Atlas and the Big Black Book of Piracy
by Chuckling-Ghost
Summary: Atlas isn't sure how he got to the East Blue, how long he's been in the world of One Piece, or why the timeline is so far off (other than his own actions) but one thing he does know as memories of lives erased and forgotten begin to crash back through his and his friends' minds is that somehow, he's going to find out. That Golden Lion girl is rather insistent about it after all...
1. Chapter 1: Atlas

Chapter 1 - Atlas

It was a beautiful day in Shellstown. The clouds overhead were white and puffy set in a clear blue sky, the sea was gently lapping at the shore and most of the island were going about their daily lives in completely nonchalant normalcy.

The key word in that sentence is of course " _most_ ". The men of the local Marine base are having a decidedly _un_ peaceful day. Already tired from attempting to heave their tyrannical captain's massive monument to his ego upright, the tired marines now find themselves crushed between a rock and a hard place. On one side is their monstrous superior, Captain Axe-Hand Morgan, threatening their lives with his immense and infamous axe hand should they disobey. On the other side stand two men who the frightened Marines can only dub demons.

One looks boyish and friendly as he effortlessly dodges Morgan's massive axe and replies to every attempt to cleave him in two with a punch strong enough to knock the immense Captain reeling. Were they not seeing it with their own eyes, none present would ever believe the boy in the Strawhat had it in him to not only go toe-to-toe with the infamous Captain Morgan, but utterly _wipe the floor with him_. See it they did though, and even though their brains kept telling them there was no way it was real, that the boy couldn't have taken over a dozen rifle shots to the chest and bounced them back effortlessly, their eyes kept insisting that yes it was, and yes he did.

The other is a man rumored to be a demon, who the Marines have seen strung up and starving in their parade ground for over a week as a result of a bargain he'd made with Captain Morgan's spoiled son for a child's life. Now they knew as they looked into the eyes of the man wielding the three katana, his reputation had been earned by bathing in the blood of enemies far more fearsome than them. Those eyes were like windows into a scene straight from a murder mystery, full of blood and death for any who dared cross the demon Roronoa Zoro. None felt quite brave enough to try their luck, and many were too enraptured by the sight of their superior getting his well deserved pummeling to even begin to consider it. After all, what sort of officer ordered his own men to commit suicide for voicing concern over a strong enemy?

Then, just as the boy in the straw hat slammed Morgan into the ground and reared back to slam a finisher into his iron jaw, a voice rang out, "STOP IT!" Straw hat paid no heed and blasted Morgan across the yard with a punch that sent the massive man skidding and rolling through the dirt. Then Strawhat rose and turned his gaze onto the one who had yelled for him to stop. The marines followed his gaze and saw Captain Morgan's spoiled son Helmeppo pointing a pistol at Strawhat's small pink haired friend.

"ONE FALSE MOVE AND FOUR EYES GETS IT!" Helmeppo shouted once he had Strawhat's attention. It was then that the Marines noticed another figure behind the two weakest people in the yard advancing on them with a pistol of his own in hand as his silent stride carried him across the yard in a few steps. "IF YOU EVEN BLINK I'LL SHOOT!" Helmeppo yelled, completely heedless of the danger behind him. Just as the Marines started to cry out to warn Helmeppo, the figure in the broad hat with the gun raised a finger to his lips and shook his head.

Then the bespectacled boy Helmeppo was attempting to hold hostage shouted, "LUFFY! DON'T LET THEM WIN BECAUSE OF ME! LET HIM KILL ME!" The boy in the hat, Luffy, grinned, "You're a good guy Coby!"

Then the silent man spoke from a few feet behind Helmeppo in a carrying, bone chilling voice, "I quite agree." Helmeppo nearly leapt from his skin in terror as a gunshot rang out. Coby flinched and started looking and feeling for the wound he was certain was there, then he realized Helmeppo was dancing back clutching an empty hand, and then the mangled wreckage of his gun hit the ground. The silent gunman snorted, "Guns aren't for threats, they're for _action_. If you don't know how to use one then you haven't got any business holding one, and that was the sorriest hostage taking I've ever seen."

Then the marines, Helmeppo and Coby all jumped as Captain Morgan fell to the ground with an earthshaking **_WHUMP_** , bleeding from three sword wounds to the chest as Zoro landed behind his captain. Luffy looked over his shoulder with a grin, "Nice one Zoro!"

Zoro grinned around the sword clenched in his teeth, "No sweat, Captain."

Silence reigned for a moment and then the previously silent gunman raised his pistol to push the brim of his hat up and reveal a young, whiskered face with a broad grin, "Captain huh? Are ye recruitin'? I might be of a mind to join." Luffy grinned and laughed, "Shishishi! Yep!"

The man holstered his gun and grinned at the Marines as Zoro shot them a glare and asked, "Anyone still want to capture us?" The Marines exchanged glances and then erupted into cheers. They were so busy cheering that they didn't even notice Zoro collapsing, or the gunman and Luffy running to heft him over their shoulders and carry him out with the bespectacled boy trailing quickly behind them.

Nobody made a move to stop the four young men who had just saved them as they left, but all cheered their success as they hurried to restrain their thankfully former superior.

==Later, A Restaurant in Shells Town==

Luffy excitedly leaned across the table as Zoro tore into the plate of food that was quickly brought out to them, "So, you wanna join my pirate crew?"

The man in the hat with the whiskers raised an eyebrow with a skeptical expression, "Pirate? As in the rape pillage and plunder type?"

Luffy looked decidedly offended, "What?! NO! I just want to be freer than anyone else! I don't need any of that other stuff!" Then a thoughtful look crossed his face, "What's that other stuff?" The man in the hat sat forward as Zoro stopped eating to look at his captain in disbelief.

The hatted man raised two fingers, "Pillage and Plunder, steal and smash people's things for no reason other than that you want to have them but don't want to pay for them." "WHAT?!" Luffy appeared outraged at the mere notion. The hatted man and Zoro both breathed small sighs of relief internally and then the hatted man raised the third finger, "And lastly rape, forcing women to have," he paused and snapped a gaze over to the little girl who was absolutely starry eyed over the four young men.

He leaned over and offered her his now empty glass, "Pardon me child, could I trouble you for a refill?" "Sure!" the little girl chirped before scurrying away to get him a refill. As soon as she was gone the hatted man turned back to Luffy, "And rape is forcing women to have sex when they don't want to."

Luffy tilted his head with a confused expression, "What's sex?" Three heads slammed into the table with a concerted _WHAM!_

The hatted man raised his head with a small grin, "My name's Trueno D. Atlas, I'd like to join your crew Captain." Luffy grinned, "Okay!" Atlas sat back and looked at Luffy, "Now that I think about it, I don't think I caught any of your names."

Luffy grinned, "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's gonna be King of the Pirates!" Atlas nodded, "Awesome. Three swords?" Zoro resumed eating with a grin as he declared around a mouthful of food, "Roronoa Zoro, gonna be the world's strongest swordsman." Atlas turned to Coby, "And you?" "M-my name's Coby…" he said with a quiet stammer, "I…I want to be a Marine."

Atlas blinked, "Aaand one of these things is not like the other. What odd circumstances lead to you being part of this merry band?" Coby gulped, "I…I was abducted by a pirate crew. Luffy saved me and I've been traveling with him for a few days now."

He was interrupted as the little girl returned with her mother and drinks and more food for all four of them. Atlas and Luffy immediately dug in with the gusto of starved wolves having abstained from eating until they were sure Zoro had gotten some.

Coby smiled weakly at their abysmal table manners and then dug in himself. When they were done, all four sat back happily stuffed. "That hit the spot!" Zoro declared before looking at Luffy and Atlas, "Kinda funny, you two seem even hungrier than me." Atlas shrugged, "Haven't eaten since yesterday." Luffy shrugged, "Two hours for me." Zoro, Coby and their gracious hosts all stared at the two gluttons.

"Guess it's cause o' my Devil Fruit…" Atlas mused as he scraped up what scraps he could off his plate. Everyone immediately turned to look at him, "You've got a Devil Fruit too?!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly, "Which one?!"

Atlas shot him a quick glance and grin, "It's not much yet, I've only just recently gotten it. It's called the Open-open fruit. So far all I can do is open doors and windows and things. I haven't really tried it on much, although I did open that fence earlier to get the drop on that blond guy." His brows furrowed, "Wonder what else I can do…"

He thought for a moment and then held his hands a little ways apart before frowning at the space between them. His hands shook slightly and then there was a sound like a small gun clap that startled everyone. Atlas grinned, "I can open the _air_."

Zoro frowned at him, "How do you open air?" Atlas grinned, "I opened a void where air couldn't be. If I'm right then the fact that I can do _that_ means that I can "open" anything, including holes through stone, metal, fire, storms, heck I wonder if I can…" He raised a finger and made a little sliding motion in the air before blinking as a teeny little disturbance appeared. He stared and then grinned before sticking his finger into it. Zoro immediately jumped out of his chair and spun, drawing everyone's attention to the finger sticking out of midair that had just poked him in the back of the head.

Atlas pulled his finger back and grinned at it, "I can open freaking _pooortaaals! Ke, tch, KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS IS AWESOME!"_ Then he kicked his chair over backwards and rolled clean out of existence before reappearing across the room landing on his feet and setting his chair upright. He looked back at them with the look of a kid in a candy store, "This, is a dream come true."

Then he dropped through the floor and back into the room next to the table, landing firmly on his feet. He bowed to the little girl's mother, "Madam may I have something to drink in order to celebrate my good fortune?"

The woman blinked in surprise and then smiled, "Of course." Atlas snapped his fingers and then grinned as he reached through another invisible rent in the air to pull his chair back from across the room and sit down in it. Atlas steepled his fingers and grinned, "So Captain, am I cool enough to join?" Luffy grinned widely, "Absolutely! Welcome aboard!"

Zoro grinned, "So, what's next?" Luffy grinned back, "We're headed to the Grand Line." Atlas opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Coby exclaiming, "ARE YOU INSANE?! THAT'S SUICIDE! THERE'S ONLY THREE OF YOU AND ALL THE STRONGEST PIRATES IN THE WORLD ARE THERE!"

Atlas closed his mouth and turned to Zoro and Luffy. Zoro shrugged, "Makes sense. If we're after the One Piece, then the Grand Line is where we need to go." Coby's head snapped around to look at him, "ZORO?! YOU AGREE WITH HIM?!"

Atlas shrugged, "Why wouldn't he? Even if we get in over our heads, I can open us a portal out of there in an instant." Coby opened his mouth to argue and then closed it back, "I guess that does make sense…" Luffy laughed, "See Coby? There's nothing to worry about!"

Coby mulled that over for a moment, "I'm still worried though! You're my first real friends, can't I be worried about you?" Luffy smiled, "We're going our separate ways now, but we'll always be friends Coby!" Coby's eyes widened and then he nodded with a big watery grin, "Right."

Just then the door opened to reveal a ranking Marine and over a dozen more in the street behind him. The occupants of the small restaurant turned to look at the Marine as he stepped in, "I am sorry to intrude. Excuse me if I am wrong, but you gentlemen are pirates, correct?"

"All except for shorty here," Atlas replied as he jerked a thumb at Coby, "I don't know why he's here." Then he turned to Coby and pointed at the Marines, "Shouldn't you be over there with them Mr. Marine?" Coby's breath caught as Atlas turned back to the Marines, "We found your chore boy. Seems his boat floated off without its paddles. Thought we'd bring him back to ya."

The Marines all looked at Coby, "Is that true son?" Coby wavered for a moment and then nodded, "Yessir! I, I'm not officially a marine yet, but I want to be! Please, I'll do anything, even if it's just chores!"

The Marine contemplated that for a moment and then one of the other Marines spoke up, "Sir, I don't think that's a good idea. Pirates have been known to plant spies in the Navy, what if he's a mole? We should perform a thorough background check on him."

Atlas raised an eyebrow, "You mean like how he wound up traveling with us, or did you mean the way he's tried to stab me and Cap to death in our sleep repeatedly?" Everyone in the room froze. Atlas continued as he shot a glance at Coby, "The runt's tried to shoot us, stab us, roll us overboard, set me on _fire_ and when he figured out he couldn't kill us himself, he led us _here_ , to the stronghold of one of the strongest Marines around. This kid _hates_ pirates. I've regretted pulling him out of the water and been wanting to kill him since we picked him up, but Cap insisted on getting him to his destination. Said it was bad luck or something to leave him…" he muttered darkly.

Luffy crossed his arms and nodded silently as Zoro scooted away from Coby ever so slightly with a wary look. The Marines were wavering and then Atlas sighed, rose and pulled his shirt up to reveal a massive and fairly fresh wound stretching across his stomach from his right hip to the center of his chest, "Does _this_ convince you? The little bastard came within an inch of killing me the first night he was aboard! If it weren't for my powers and Luffy waking up when I hollered, he would have _succeeded_. He _looks_ harmless, but he's a nightmare to any pirates unfortunate enough to pick him up. How many of Alvida's did you say you axed kid? Twenty or something in their sleep before they realized what you were up to?"

Coby was now looking very nervous as he nodded and shot a glance at the Marines. Atlas continued, "Apparently the only reason he didn't get Alvida is because her blubber protected her. Even if you don't take him, we do _NOT_ want him on our ship to stab us in our sleep, or poison us, or whatever else that devious little mind of his can concoct over the course of a voyage. Now that I think about it…" Atlas's eyes narrowed dangerously and then he teleported behind Coby and caught him by the shoulders, " **YOU LITTLE SHIT!** " he roared as he lifted Coby off his feet and spun to throw him out the door into the Marines waiting outside.

The marine in charge stood back up from where he had ducked under Coby's flying form and pointed an incriminating finger at the three pirates, "THAT'S ENOUGH! HE IS CLEARLY NOT YOUR ALLY NOW PLEASE LEAVE! WE'LL NOT REPORT YOU TO MARINE HEADQUARTERS AS THANKS FOR SAVING OUR TOWN, BUT LEAVE NOW!"

Atlas growled, "That's for the Captain to decide." Luffy raised a hand with a small smile, "We'll leave." Zoro and Luffy rose from the table and the Marines backed away from the door. Luffy led the way out, his ears picking up the faintest breath of a whisper that he was sure reached Coby's ears as they passed by him, " _Good luck kid."_ Zoro and Atlas flanked him as they strode past the Marines and headed down to the port, all three grinning as Coby leapt up and begged to be a Marine.

A few minutes later they reached the small sail boat Luffy and Coby had arrived in. "Well," Zoro declared with a grin, "It's a good time to be leaving. The whole town probably hates us now, that's how pirates should leave a town." Luffy laughed, "I guess that's true!" Atlas grinned over his shoulder, "Hey guys, we've got company." Luffy and Zoro turned and saw Coby run up.

"Come for one final shot at us?" Atlas called teasingly as he noted the marines coming down the slope behind the pink haired boy. Coby shook his head and then saluted, "THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING! I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU GUYS!"

Zoro laughed lightly, "Well that's a new one, pirates being saluted by a marine!" Then the marine in charge called from next to Coby as he strode up, his over a dozen soldiers behind him, "TEEENSHUN!" Every Marine present saluted the three pirates. Atlas chuckled as he climbed into the small boat, "Now that's a send off!"

As they sailed away, the Marine in charge smiled down at Coby, "Those are some good friends you're got there sailor." Then before Coby could respond he spun, "MEN! WHAT WE JUST DID WAS A GROSS VIOLATION OF MARINE CODE! NO SUPPER FOR A WEEK!" " **SIR YES SIR!** "

Meanwhile Luffy laughed from the bow, "WE'RE ON OUR WAY TO THE GRAND LINE!"


	2. Chapter 2: New View

Chapter 2 – New View

"So where did you really get that wound?" Zoro asked Atlas, "Because you said you had only just met us before those marines showed up."

Atlas grinned, "I used my devil fruit power to partially open it while I was telling the marines about all those horrible things Coby supposedly did to us. Had no idea if it would actually work, but I'm glad it did." He absentmindedly slapped his gut and then his expression became one of intense agony as he suddenly curled around his stomach. His eyes went blank with pain as he keeled over onto his side, choking out a gasping breath and his chest began to hemorrhage. Zoro and Luffy started panicking as blood started _pouring_ from the now very VERY open wound and Atlas's convulsions started getting worse and worse.

As Luffy and Zoro panicked, a faint light of consciousness came back into Atlas's eyes. As he struggled to remain conscious, his ears deaf from the spine tingling grating-ringing sensation the pain had sent racing through him, he snapped his fingers feebly and his shirt ripped itself open to reveal the wound. Atlas opened his palm and a distortion appeared in the air over it before flames started leaping through it. Luffy and Zoro stared in shock and then Zoro quickly grabbed Atlas's hand as Luffy held his shoulders.

Atlas howled in pain as Zoro guided the flame filled palm quickly over the wound, pinching it closed and then burning it shut, the steely determination born of ten thousand battles the only thing keeping his hands steady. As soon as he was done, the portal snuffed itself out and Atlas became still.

Zoro and Luffy sat back and then Atlas's eyes snapped open and he tried to sit up as his hand flew to his stomach over the wound. He roared a swear word that started with F and then started cursing a blue streak as he waved Zoro and Luffy off and set his powers to work. He only lasted a moment before he collapsed backwards onto the rail panting as he let his hand rest on his side. He took a moment to catch his breath, "How long was I out?"

"Only for a moment," Zoro replied, "I'm surprised. Most people wouldn't have woken up that fast." Atlas twitched a grin at him, "I had to marry the blood vessels back up to each other, I can't feel anything but itching now, so I guess that means I'm not bleeding internally anymore."

Zoro frowned, "How does the Open-open fruit have _that_ power?" Atlas smiled weakly, "It's all about…interpretation. I envisioned my blood vessels as being like roads…roads closed due to damage. To open a damaged road up, you repair it…so I used my powers to open them by repairing the damage." He was quiet for a moment, "I'll keep the scar…as a reminder. Thank you, thank you both, so much…don't…don't wanna die yet…" Then he was unconscious again.

Zoro sat back looking at him, "This guy's something else." Luffy nodded, "Yep."

They were silent for a while and then Luffy asked, "Do you think he could show me new ways to use my Gum-gum fruit?" Zoro looked over at him, "I dunno, maybe. I had never met a Devil Fruit user before you two, so I don't really know how they work. Why do you ask?"

Luffy shrugged, "Well, he's using his for all sorts of cool stuff." He looked at his hand, curled a fist and then opened it back, "The only thing I've found that mine can do is let me stretch. I'm awesome with that, but now I wonder if I'm missing out on some huge awesome power or something."

Zoro sat back and was quiet a while, then, "Hey Luffy, you can stretch a lot right? Can you inflate like a balloon?" Luffy nodded, "Yeah, check this out! Gum guuum…BALLOON!" He inhaled a massive amount of air and was suddenly filling half the boat with his immensely stretched stomach.

Zoro eyed his rotund captain for a moment, "Can you inflate your muscles like that? Would it make you any stronger if you did?" Luffy tilted his head, "Ya know, I actually never thought about it. I guess I could…I wonder how I get the air in there…"

"You blow up balloons right?" Zoro asked, "Why not try making a hole in your arm and blowing the air in?" Luffy's eyes lit up, "Yeah that might work! Thanks Zoro!" He immediately bit his arm and exhaled all the air in his stomach into it. His forearm and hand inflated and Luffy was left with a giant awkward hand that he could barely move.

Luffy looked at it with slight disappointment and then Zoro reached over and squeezed it. Air slid from Luffy's enormous hand over to his chest. Luffy and Zoro blinked in unison and then swapped their confusion for matching excited grins as they combined their efforts to squeeze the air out of Luffy's hand. A lot of the air slid back out the way it went in, but when they were done Luffy's chest was almost twice the size it had been. Luffy looked at Zoro with his massively puffed out chest and grinned, "Alright! Try and punch me, let's see what happened!"

Zoro hauled back and threw the strongest punch he could muster into Luffy's inflated chest. Instead of bouncing, Zoro's fist stopped cold and his excited look turned to one of pain, "Owooo!" He growled as he pulled his now throbbing hand back and swore at it. Luffy grinned, "Awesome! I'm even tougher now! What do you think we should call it?"

Zoro thought for a moment, "Iron Wall? That was like punching armor." "Gum gum Iron Wall…" Luffy mused, then he grinned, "Yeah! Thanks Zoro! This is awesome! Iron Wall Luffy!" Zoro grinned, "Don't get carried away yet, your limbs are still normal. We should see if you can do your entire body that way, then it would be like the entire suit of armor instead of just your chest."

Luffy thought for a moment and then inhaled and pumped more air into himself. This time he had a slightly easier time forcing the air out of his arm into his chest, so his chest inflated to quadruple its original size instead of double. Luffy looked down at his chest in annoyance and then frowned and strained to pull his chest a little closer back to its original size and force the air out into his limbs. He was rewarded with his arms expanding as his chest deflated.

Zoro grinned, "You look like a gorilla!" Luffy bounced in the boat while making a monkey face with a grin, "Oohoohooh! Ahahah!" Zoro chuckled, "Alright, now let's see if your punches are any stronger." He raised a hand, "Punch my palm."

Luffy obliged and Zoro was knocked off his feet. After the boat quit rocking and Zoro managed to right himself he looked at Luffy, "Alright, now deflate and let's try that again." Luffy looked down at himself and back at Zoro, "Um…how do I do that?" "How should I know?" Zoro asked, "They're _your_ powers, but even if it wasn't any stronger, that was still the strongest punch I've ever felt and it felt like a steel gauntlet. You could probably break through a _real_ iron wall with that."

Luffy grinned, "Cooool!" Zoro thought for a moment, "Wanna see how it holds up against one of my swords?" "Sure!" Luffy grinned.

Zoro drew one of his two black swords. He didn't consider any of his swords expendable, but in the event Luffy's punch was somehow capable of hurting a sword, he certainly didn't want it to be Kuina's. Zoro raised it, "Okay, we should probably start off light, we don't want to cut your hand off by mistake. Start by just touching it and pressing. If it starts to cut in then we know you're not immune to blades."

Luffy nodded and laid his hand against the razor sharp edge before gently starting to push. He frowned and kept pushing. Zoro felt the blade tilting back in his hand and tightened his grip to combat strength. Luffy pushed harder and Zoro had to put his hand against the back of the blade to keep Luffy from pushing it back onto his shoulder. "Alright," Zoro declared when it was clear that no blood was running down the blade no matter how hard they pushed, "Now take your other hand and strike it really hard with your palm!"

Luffy's hand flew back, back, baaaaack, and then _snapped_ forward and into the blade with such force that it nearly launched Zoro out of the boat. If Zoro hadn't had his back foot braced off against the mast, he would've gone overboard. Instead the _boat_ jumped a few feet sideways. Zoro pulled his sowrd back and looked at the slightly dulled edge before looking at Luffy's hand, which was completely unscathed. Then he grinned, "Well Luffy, it looks like we managed to solve at least part of your weakness to blades!"

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed, "Let's see what else we can come up with!" "First thing we should check out is whether or not you can make it bigger," Zoro declared, "Imagine if you could throw a punch as big as that balloon thing you did earlier!"

It truly was a testament to how soundly unconscious Atlas was that the ensuing experimentations didn't wake him.

==The Next Morning==

Atlas stirred and saw Luffy and Zoro passed out in the middle of the boat. Then Luffy snored loud enough to startle Atlas into moving slightly and remembering the still very painful burn across his gut. He gasped in pain and then looked around, "Where the hell are we?" His empty stomach rumbled and he looked down at it, "Wonder how long I was out…" he mused as he looked around the small boat for something to eat.

It was then that he realized there was a problem, "Where's the food? Do we not have any?" He shot a glare at his two crewmates, _MORONS!_ He thought angrily. He scratched his head and then a thought occurred to him. He closed his eyes and then reopened them with his powers. He frowned as his vision was suddenly extremely blurry and then, "Oh right, contacts…" He raised his hands to his eyes and pulled the tiny lenses out before looking around and marveling at how far and accurately he could see.

Then his eyes wandered back to his crewmates and he was immediately enraptured by the complexity of detail suddenly available to him. "So this is how Sherlock Holmes feels…" he whispered to himself as details he would never have guessed came racing into his mind, clamoring for his attention as his mind struggled to keep up with the "perfect sight" he had opened his eyes with.

The miniscule scratches and puncture wounds covering Luffy's skin…so faint that they could never have been distinguished by ordinary eyes, but to Atlas even the faintest differences were now obvious. _He must've fought with animals on a daily basis for years…_ The straw hat atop the captain's head had been there so long that it had actually molded ever so slightly to perfectly fit the rubber man's skull perfectly. The sandals and clothes which were old and frayed… _does he not have any other clothes or has this just been his favorite set for years?_ The faint smile lines already etched into the young man's face and the faint definition of whipcord strong muscle lurking beneath the surface were blindingly obvious and screamed "cheerful bruiser". Atlas could only marvel at how much he had learned in that brief instant.

Then he turned to Zoro and his eyes widened at the extent of the calluses on the swordsman's hands. _How much has this guy trained and fought? His fingerprints have been worn slap off!_ Then his eyes traveled up the arms, _Holy shit HOW does this guy train? His arms are as thick as my legs!_ Then his eyes went back to the hands and bugged out, _Ok, note to self, NEVER arm wrestle with Zoro…_

Then a shadow passed over the deck and Atlas's head snapped up and around just in time to see a massive bird fly overhead. "Must be land nearby…" Atlas muttered, "Even if it's that big, it still wouldn't fly too far from land…right?" He forced himself upright and tugged the little boat's sail to follow the immense bird. He frowned as the distance between the boat and the bird began to grow. He looked over his shoulder into the slight breeze.

He stepped over his sleeping friends and raised his hands, "Let's open some distance between us and here." He braced off against the bench in the bottom of the boat and extended his hands before ordering in his most commanding voice, " _OPEN!_ " A sudden blast of force launched the little boat flying with enough speed that Atlas would've been launched overboard if he hadn't been braced off. He managed to right himself and regain his bearings and then he realized that Luffy and Zoro had both slept right through the sudden tremendous acceleration.

Then he looked up and his eyes bugged out as the boat passed the bird like it was standing still. His head snapped around and his eyes widened as he took in the extremely rapidly approaching island, "OH…" **CRASH!**

Atlas wasn't quite sure how he had plowed up a perfect trench down the street without being torn to shreds. He would later chalk it up to his devil fruit powers instinctively opening the ground to catch him. Luffy and Zoro came out of opposing houses fire spitting mad, and Atlas decided he had better things to worry about.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" a dust covered Zoro roared as he carved down a stone wall to reveal that he had smashed through about ten more. "I WAS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF AN AWESOME DREAM!" Luffy shouted as he punched a door off its hinges, bits of broken glass sticking out of numerous wounds all over his body. His hat had only stayed on by virtue of the string tied around his neck.

"I DON'T KNOW BUT I'M _BLAMING THEM!_ " Atlas bellowed as he twisted his face into an enraged expression and pointed at three stunned looking pirates who had just cornered a pretty girl with orange hair. Said pretty girl went pale and then grinned, "Hi boss! You came to help me- **EEP!** "

The pretty girl barely had time to duck before Luffy's punch rocketed over her head and decked the middle pirate. Then she shrieked as the ground suddenly fell out from under her, only for her shriek to be cut off by a pair of strong arms wrapping around her to break her fall. Atlas smiled, "Easy there beautiful, it's better for you if you stay out of the captain's way. Him and Zoro are madder'n a couple o' hornets." Said captain and Zoro were currently in the process of dismantling the pirates that had become Atlas's unfortunate scapegoats.

The pretty girl stared and then turned back to Atlas and said in a very small quiet voice, "Thank you…" then she realized Atlas was still holding her close, "Um…could you…let go please?"

Atlas smiled and stepped back, "Of course! My apologies," He rubbed the back of his head with an embarrassed grin, "It's just not very often I get to hold a beautiful woman close. Been at sea too long, I guess my manners have become totally waterlogged! I should probably ask your name, but it's more polite to introduce myself first isn't it? My name's Atlas, that there's Captain Luffy and our First Mate Zoro."

Luffy and Zoro turned at the sound of their names, having thoroughly exhausted their outrage at being so rudely awoken. The pretty girl smiled and waved hello, "Um, hi! I'm Nami. You guys seem really strong…" Then a thought crossed her mind and she grinned, "Considering that, what would you guys say to a little proposition?"

Luffy frowned in confusion, "A superstition?" Zoro sighed, "No Luffy, she wants to make a deal with us." "We might be open to negotiations," Atlas supplied carefully, "What did you have in mind?"

Nami turned to Atlas, "The pirates in this town work for Buggy the Clown, he's got _loads_ of treasure, but he's also got lots of guys to guard it. Since you guys took down those three like it was nothing, do you think you might could help me steal all his treasure?" Atlas looked at Luffy and Zoro and then back at Nami, "What's in it for us?"

Nami visibly drew a blank for a moment, "Um…I'll, sp…spl…" She seemed to choke on the word as it tried to make her sick to her stomach. Atlas raised an eyebrow, "Split the profits?" "Yeah 80-20!" Nami replied as she was spared having to say it. Atlas looked at Luffy and Zoro, "Eighty percent for us, twenty for her, sounds pretty good."

"NO EIGHTY PERCENT FOR ME!" Nami exclaimed angrily before catching herself. It was then that Atlas _loomed_ at her with a stare that could make a feral dog heel. Nami immediately felt about an inch high, "Um…or maybe fifty-fifty?" Atlas _LOOMED_ at her, his stare now fearsome enough to make a wolf sit, shake and speak.

" ** _Fifty-fifty AND you show us to the next island,_** " Atlas declared in a tone of doom. "Okay…" Nami squeaked in terror. Suddenly Atlas was about the same height as her and smiling again, "Wonderful! What do you say Cap? Good deal?"

Luffy tilted his head, "Mmm…I'm not sure…will there be meat?" Atlas turned to Nami with a smile like a storm wind, "Nami, meat? Yes, no?"

"Yeah!" Nami exclaimed quickly, "Buggy and his crew have ransacked the whole town! All the meat in town is at their camp!" "WHAT?!" Luffy exclaimed in outrage, "THEY'RE EATING ALL THE MEAT?!"

Nami thought quickly, "Yeah! All of it! And they've got this huge lion that's probably eating enough for ten people! If you don't chase them off then soon there won't be any left, but if you beat them up then you can have it all for yourself!"

Luffy turned and bolted for the harbor, "COME ON GUYS! WE'VE GOTTA SAVE THE MEAT!" "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY TOOK THE BOOZE TOO?!" Atlas demanded of a startled looking Nami before grinning as Zoro raced after Luffy, swords drawn. Atlas winked at Nami, "See you around Miss Nami, don't forget our deal, 'cause you can't outrun me." Then he disappeared, leaving Nami wondering what sort of devil she had just made a bargain with.


	3. Chapter 3: Pirates vs Pirates

Chapter 3 – Pirates vs Pirates

The first thing the Buggy Pirates knew about being under attack was when a few of them heard someone shout the words, "SECOND GEAR! IRON WALL LUFFY!" The next thing they knew about it was a huge man in a straw hat launching himself over the edge of the roof they were camped on from the ground ready to demolish them.

Luffy was very excited at the prospect of a fight, and even more at the chance to try out his new move. He felt a lot stronger as his body inflated to double its usual size and sturdiness, and with it came a racing in his heart that only served to fuel his adrenaline even higher as he dove among the enemy pirates. He felled two as he landed in a crouch and sent two more flying with a double uppercut as he surged back to his feet. Without waiting for them to even respond he pulled a foot back, "GUM-GUUUM WHIIIIP!"

His leg shot out and swung, although he noticed as he swung it that it wasn't nearly as flexible as his usual whip. Atlas teleported up over the heads of the enemy pirates as Luffy swept them away and off the building, "Might wanna rename that one Cap! It's more like a beam or a club now!" Luffy retracted his leg and stopped to think, "You've got a point there. Hmm…Gum gum beam? No, I wanna save that for if I ever learn to shoot a beam…Gum gum club? Mmm…"

"Poleaxe?" Atlas suggested as he used his powers to punch a pirate's head off before blowing a hole through the next one and then teleporting. Luffy tilted his head, "No…that would be better for my Second Gear Battle Axe…"

Atlas dropped the remaining pirates through the roof they were standing on by forcing holes to open under them and paused as he went to jump through one of the holes after them, "Your hits are as solid as iron, maybe call it a chain flail?" Luffy pondered that, "Gum gum chain flail…doesn't really roll off the tongue…"

Atlas flicked him a salute, "I'll leave you to it then captain. I'm gonna go join Zoro and finish these food stealing punks off." He jumped through the hole and spun, " _WIDOWMAKER WHIRLWIND!"_ Arcs of deadly portals which would transport any flesh they touched away rocketed down into the room like a hailstorm of sword strokes.

In an instant half the remaining pirates had been rent open, and while the other half were gawking and considering cowering, Zoro looked up at Atlas, "A whirlwind attack huh? Sounds like a good idea. I've seen yours, now hit the deck and check out mine! Three sword style…" Atlas opened a portal to cushion his landing and immediately hit the deck as he slid out of it sideways, "TATSUMAKI!" Zoro roared as he swung his swords with enough force to send everything in the tavern at the height of his swords or above flying up in a hurricane of slicing winds.

Atlas held on to his hat with one hand and paused to marvel at the sheer _force_ behind his new crewmate's swings. As pirates began to rain like confetti, Atlas snapped his fingers and opened portals to drop them into a nice neat painful dog pile. When he was sure the slicing winds had stopped, Atlas picked himself up and looked at Zoro with no small amount of respect, " _That_ was impressive."

Zoro glanced at Atlas and noted that he was _drenched_ in blood up to his elbows and liberally splattered with it everywhere else. Then he looked over at the pile of dead and wounded pirates, "Looks like your fighting style's nothing to sneeze at either." He turned back to Atlas, "What were you doing to them? Punching straight through them?"

Atlas grinned with slight embarrassment, "Yeah, I used my powers to open a field around my hands where human flesh other than my own would instantly liquefy. I had no idea if it would work or not, but it looks like it does." He looked at his blood soaked hand and raised it to show Zoro his palm, "Red Hand Atlas! That has a nice ring to it don'tcha think?"

Zoro grinned, "Yeah it does. Maybe that'll be your epithet when we get bounties." Then he turned to look up at the hole filled ceiling, "Hey Luffy, you gonna come down or what?"

A shriek from outside drew the two racing out the door just in time to see Luffy unleash "GUM GUM METEOR SHOWER!" on the pirates he had swept off the roof. The shriek had been Nami as she arrived on the scene and found approximately half of the pirates that Luffy had knocked from the roof getting back up just in time to turn lecherous eyes on her.

Luffy twisted mid-air and landed skidding. He slid to a halt next to Nami, "You alright?" Nami stared and then nodded in awe, "Yeah…I'm…just fine…" Luffy grinned, "Good! GUM GUM METEOR PUNCH!" The enhanced Gum Gum Pistol rocketed across the square and launched the one pirate foolish enough to try getting back up into a double clothesline attack from Zoro's sword and Atlas's deadly hand. The headless remains of the pirate dropped to the ground behind the two Strawhats in front of the tavern door.

Luffy raised an eyebrow at the merciless execution, but before anyone could say anything a voice howled, "MY CREEEEEEEW!" The three Strawhat pirates plus Nami turned and saw a man in stripes and an orange cape with clown make up and a big red nose standing between two other men and an elephant sized lion. All three looked thoroughly poleaxed.

Nami stepped behind Luffy and whispered in his ear, "That one with the nose is Buggy, if you beat him, the meat's all yours!"

Luffy grinned and slammed his knuckles into his palm, "Right! Zoro! Atlas! Let's take these guys down so we can eat!" The white haired man on Buggy's right leapt up on top of the lion as the man to Buggy's left pulled a unicycle and a cutlass from somewhere and Zoro immediately pointed a katana at him, "Swordsman. Mine." Atlas grinned, "Alright, then I'll take the lion tamer. Cap, Buggy's all yours!" Zoro charged and Atlas teleported.

Zoro and the man on the unicycle charged straight at each other and the man on the unicycle pulled a very impressive jump over Zoro and flipped upside down midair to slash down at him. Zoro effortlessly blocked and as the unicyclist landed on one hand, Zoro was forced back by a sudden flash of flames that covered the unicyclist's return to an upright position. Zoro grinned in anticipation of a challenge, "You're a springy one eh unicycle?"

"I am Cabaji, Chief of Staff of the Buggy Pirates!" Cabaji declared as he and Zoro circled each other, "You unless I miss my guess are Roronoa Zoro, the strongest swordsman in the East Blue. Defeating you will further my fearsome reputation!" "Don't count your chickens before they hatch," Zoro replied calmly as he launched across the opening, "You have to beat me first!"

The lion tamer got no such chance to introduce himself, and Atlas would likely not have cared even if he had. Atlas appeared behind the massive lion and immediately opened a reduced gravity field around himself. The lion was yanked by its tail and flung into the nearest building. "You know it's a shame," Atlas declared calmly as the lion and its tamer started trying to extricate themselves from the rubble, "I actually quite like lions." Then he drew his pistol and aimed at the still disoriented lion tamer, "You lose."

A crack of gunfire later and the lion tamer dropper with a hole in his head. Before the lion could react to its master's death, a large chunk of rubble fell out of a portal on its head and sent it crashing back to the ground. Atlas turned just in time to see Zoro chop the unicycle out from under Cabaji and spin to meet the unicyclist's cutlass with one of his katana before gutting him with another. Then the two Strawhats turned as they heard a massive explosion.

They saw Buggy pull another grenade and sling it at the spot where the first one had detonated like a fast ball. A second later another massive explosion rocked the square. As Atlas and Zoro looked at the now truly sinister looking clown pirate silhouetted in front of the massive cloud of flames and smoke turning to look at them, they had the same horrid thought, _Can Luffy handle explosions like that?_

"Now it's your turn…" Buggy declared ominously as he drew another handful of his grenades. Then Atlas and Zoro's eyes went wide as the smoke started to clear behind Buggy. A very scorched Luffy was standing up from over a kneeling trembling figure with vibrant orange hair, and the look on his face was far more frightening than either of them would've believed their rubber brained friend capable of looking. Buggy didn't realize the danger he was in until he hauled back for his pitch and Luffy wrapped his hand around Buggy's.

Buggy threw his pitch, but his hand pulled off his arm and stayed locked in Luffy's grip. Buggy noticed his detached hand and spun, "What the AHHH!" He suddenly howled and curled around the spot where his hand should have been. The grenade in Luffy's hand exploded and was easily contained. Zoro and Atlas were both mildly concerned over how their normally cheerful captain's murderous glare didn't seem to even _register_ that a bomb had just gone off in his hand.

Luffy dropped the hand and Zoro and Atlas both cringed slightly at the sight of the thoroughly mangled mess that had been Buggy's hand. Buggy's eyes bugged clear out of his head before tilting to look up into the face of his opponent. As Buggy looked into the furious eyes beneath the brim of the straw hat, his blood ran cold. Then Luffy's hand snapped out and caught him by the lapel. Only Buggy's lightning quick disassembly and scattering saved him from having his face caved in.

His parts floated overhead and he took the opportunity to catch his breath and take stock of the situation. He noticed the girl on the ground, the same one that had stolen his map he noted, and the furious gaze quickly zeroing in on him. Before he could open his mouth Luffy's hand yanked his head back down to eye level by the hair. Luffy's glare was unyielding and unblinking in his fury, "You. Hurt. My. _Friend_."

He slammed Buggy's head into the ground and then threw a punch into it with enough force to half bury it before yanking it back up, " _NOBODY_ hurts my friends!" **_WHAM!_** Luffy slammed Buggy's head back onto his body and crumpled said body like a tin can. If it hadn't fallen apart under the pressure like a stack of lubed playing cards, Buggy's spine would've most likely shattered under the impact.

"ATLAS!" Luffy barked, his voice unusually harsh and sharp. Atlas perked up his ears, "Aye Captain?" Luffy pointed at Buggy, "Get this jerk out of here!"

Atlas raised his fingers poised to snap, "As you wish Captain." He snapped his fingers and a quick, fearsome vacuum later Buggy was gone. "Unhappy trails Buggy," Atlas said coldly with the grim satisfaction of knowing that Buggy would never hurt anyone again.

Luffy shook the rage out of his head, "Where did you send him?" Atlas pointed up and replied bluntly, "Space."

Luffy stared, "Whooooa, seriously?" Then he frowned, "Why did you send him somewhere so awesome?!" Atlas stared at his captain, "Cause there's no air up there so he probably just exploded into space dust from the vacuum? You _did_ want him gone right?"

Luffy's eyes widened, "What?! I didn't want him dead! I don't like killing." Zoro and Atlas swapped a glance and then turned back to him. "Eh, Luffy," Zoro replied, "You do realize that if we _hadn't_ killed him he probably would've come back for revenge, right?"

"He might have hurt Nami even worse next time just to get back at us," Atlas pointed out, "Speaking of, shouldn't we be a little more concerned with helping Nami?" He gestured towards Nami and blinked, "Where'd she go?"

Nami did her best to control her breathing and rapid heartbeat as she hid in the nearby alley clutching her still stinging shoulder and trying really hard to not think about how much pain she was in, _Oh my GOD what kind of monsters are those three?! They just took down like sixty guys like it was nothing! I've gotta get aw-_ "AAAH!" she shrieked as she became aware of the three monsters looking at her curiously.

Then Atlas was right next to her sucking in a very concerned breath as he took in the sight of her burns through the ruins of her clothes, "Oh shit…We need to get you a doctor right now." Then he frowned, "Wait a second…" He held his hands apart and frowned. A moment later a rippling appeared in between them, "Hold still."

Before Nami could move, Atlas had moved the rippling over onto her shoulder and she felt a hot tingling sensation erupt everywhere it touched. Nami instinctively jerked away, "What are you doing?!"

Atlas frowned at her and raised the rippling air between his hands to show her, "This is a healing field. It's a space where no matter what kind of wound you've got it'll heal back to perfect in seconds. If you'll hold still and let me finish I can heal you. Look, your shoulder's already looking a lot better." Nami looked and missed Atlas pulling his hands wide apart and moving as if to smash the field over her head. The field went over Nami's head like a net and she felt her whole body begin to tickle and tingle as Atlas's powers did their work.

In seconds though, just as Atlas had promised, Nami's burns, which had covered most of her back and almost the entirety of her arms and legs, were all healed perfectly. Just as she was staggering back fully healed, Atlas gasped in agony and fell to one knee. Nami, Luffy and Zoro all watched in horror as blood started leaking from his sleeves and seeping through his clothes. They didn't realize what was happening until his skin ripped itself off his face and took a significant portion of his hair with it. Then Nami realized what was happening, " _You idiot!"_ she shrieked, " _What's the point of healing me if you were just going to take my wounds onto yourself?!"_

Atlas cracked one eye open through the pain and grinned weakly, "Oh good, you're alright…Captain, can we find _me_ a doctor? I don't think this is life threatening unless I bleed to death, so let's hurry yeah?" He raised one hand to look at his palm and smiled weakly, "At least…my hands are okay…" then he started to tip over sideways and muttered, "oh fuck here we g-OW! Hi Zoro…"

"Can you stand?" Zoro grunted as he adjusted his grip on his new battle buddy.

"Maybe…" Atlas panted, "Legs feel like they're on fire…hang on…" He weakly snapped his fingers and another ripple spread out from his body. "Sterile zone…" he grunted, "Should help keep infections out. Feels like the wounds are mostly to my back and the sides of my arms. May be able to count…er…zzz…" he passed out. Zoro looked at him and then over his shoulder, "Why are you two still standing there? We need some bandages! Atlas can do some crazy shit with his powers, but if he bleeds to death before he wakes up he can't do anything!"

Luffy immediately took off in a cloud of dust, "DOCTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!" his howl echoed through the empty town.

==That Night==

Nami sat in a chair by Atlas's bed. Luffy and Zoro were there as well, both too worried to even enjoy their reward although they had managed to fall asleep. Atlas was still out cold and totally covered in bandages. The lights were out but the moon was full outside and its pale rays filtered down and in through the window to illuminate the bed and the mummy like figure lying on it.

Now that Nami could _see_ the wounds Buggy's bomb had left on her, she couldn't believe that she had managed to move, let alone run from the three young men she had been so scared of. A completely irrational fear she decided as she looked at Atlas. They were terrifyingly strong to be sure and had been merciless to the pirates, but surely they weren't _all_ bad if they were willing to take such horrible wounds to save her, and Luffy had tried his best to shield her from the brunt of the blast.

Atlas's back was one giant burn except for an X of untouched flesh that Nami recognized as where Luffy had grabbed her in an attempt to shield her from the explosion. From his shoulders to his elbows looked like they had been flayed and she couldn't help but raise a hand to the side of her face as she looked at the bandages covering his. She had managed to bury enough of her face in Luffy's chest that the blast hadn't gotten her eyes, but there were still two massive patches of flesh that had been stripped off Atlas's face when his powers had hurt him everywhere they'd healed her, and most of the skin on his neck and the back of his head was gone along with probably three quarters of his hair. His legs were wrapped tight in bandages and Nami silently vowed to never wear a skirt again as she recalled the burns that had covered her and then him from the waist down.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, Atlas's eyes snapped open. Nami jumped, "You're awake!" Atlas's eyes roved over to her and he blinked, then he raised a hand to his mouth and pulled the bandages down to reveal the face beneath. Nami tried her hardest not to flinch away at the corpse like visage beneath the bandages and Atlas gave her a flat look, "Whatever you just thought, _cancel it._ I don't know what it was, I really don't care. It was disturbing enough that I felt the bad vibes through whatever pain medicine that doctor gave me."

Nami blinked and then a twitchy grin spread across her face, "I had just decided to never wear skirts again because of the horrible burns you got from healing me which were initially _my_ burns on _my_ legs. Is that a problem?"

"Yes!" Atlas declared without a moment's hesitation, "It is _definitely_ a problem! You are much too beautiful to not get to wear nice clothes that show off your good looks!" The absolute conviction in his eyes left zero doubt that he meant every word.

Nami felt a blush rise to her face and then the blush turned indignant, "I am not wearing clothes that put me in danger no matter _how_ cute I look in them! We just met and it's really not your decision, so I don't see why you're in any way concerned about it."

"You will not be in danger!" Atlas declared firmly, "We're friends now aren't we? I protect my friends! So do Luffy and Zoro! As long as you're with us, we'll never let anything like that happen to you again! And even if it does, I'll heal you! You shouldn't have to go around being afraid," he finished quietly with a small smile, "Not of anything, and especially not on my behalf."

Nami's eyes widened as she took in the earnest light in his eyes. Was he seriously just openly pledging his protection to her like that? They were complete strangers! The bright glint in his eyes faded into tiredness and his brows lowered slightly as his gaze turned away, "Now that that's settled, I'm…" he yawned, "I'm going back to sleep." He winced as he nestled back down into the mattress, "Hey Nami…" his eyes were fluttering closed, "Can I…*yawn* can I get a smile? I only got a glimpse earlier, I bet it's beautiful…" Nami smiled as she leaned over to pull his blanket back up and Atlas's eyes finally slid shut with a small smile and a mutter of, "you're gonna embarrass the moon'n'stars…"

Nami's eyes went wide, _What?_ The blush raced over her face again, _Did he really just say that?!_ Then the cynical part of her brain kicked in, _Wait a minute…_ His words over the course of the day echoed in her ears, almost everything he'd said to her had involved some sort of comment about her good looks. A tiny little gasp escaped her, _HE JUST WANTS IN MY PANTS!_ Then a chill ran down her spine as she remembered that she was all alone in a room with not one but _three_ men who had all proven themselves at least dangerous enough to take on twenty to one odds without batting an eye. _Oh-shit-oh-shit-oh-shit…_

She immediately got up and snuck out of the room as quietly as her years of thieving could allow, her footsteps quieter than feather falls. She started down the stairs and across to the door. The whole town had turned out to celebrate Buggy's defeat, she could easily disappear into the crowd. They'd never find her again. She paused at the door to the tavern and looked back up at the room where the three pirates were sleeping. _I can't believe I almost fell for their big heroes routine…_

She turned and opened the door only to find a seemingly very tall cloaked man on the other side. Nami opened her mouth to say something and then horror filled her features as she recognized Cabaji. The acrobat's hand snapped out and covered her mouth to cut off her scream as he forced his way in and quickly pushed her around so that her back was to the wall next to the door he quietly closed with the tip of his cutlass, _click._

"So little miss thief," he said in a guttural whisper as Nami took in the crazed look in his eyes and the blood leaking from the corners of his mouth, "I guess your friends are here too. I'm sorry, but you won't be seeing them again, not even as corpses. You see I can't risk you calling out to wake them, so while normally I'd be tempted to have some fun with you, my only motivation tonight is reven…" A shocked and angry look crossed his face as something flashed across Nami's sight. Then Cabaji's head fell off.

"Didn't I kill you already?" Zoro asked Cabaji calmly as the acrobat's cleanly decapitated body keeled over sideways. Zoro calmly wiped his blade off and then sheathed it before turning his gaze to Nami, "You shouldn't take a man's promise of protection so lightly. Atlas knew there could be horrible consequences to experimenting with his powers to save you, he's already nearly killed himself with them by accident once. He did it anyway, and he'd do it again without a moment's hesitation." He smirked, "I should've guessed he had a soft spot for women. He wouldn't join the crew outright until he found out that Luffy doesn't know what sex is and was outraged at the thought of pirates pillage and plundering."

Nami's eyes widened and her heart skipped a few beats, _What?_ Zoro turned to go and she had to ask, "What about you? Do _you_ know what sex is?!" _Even if the captain's innocent and good natured I still don't know about these other two, but I do know they're a lot more willing to kill than Luffy is. Who knows what else they're willing to do that he isn't?_

Zoro paused to look over his shoulder at her, "Of course I know what sex is!" He turned and kept walking towards the stairs as he declared it, " _A distraction._ " Nami's heart skipped a beat again, and when her brain started working again she felt like a complete heel.

She stayed there for a moment wallowing in her guilt and then went after him and said quietly… "Zoro…" Zoro turned just in time to see Cabaji get up with a pistol in hand, " _MOVE!"_ He yelled as he shoved her aside and was lucky to only be grazed for his trouble. Zoro clutched the burning stinging trench in his flesh as his other hand went to his swords, "How are you still alive?"

Cabaji giggled, "Captain Buggy may have died, but his Devil Fruit lives on! I ate it so that I could avenge him and the rest of our crew! Thanks to Captain Buggy's Chop-chop fruit, I'm completely impervious to swords! You don't stand a chance against me Roronoa Zoro!"

He launched himself forward, cutlass poised to stab and was slammed in the face hard enough to send him flying back across the room and crashing into a table. Nami twirled her staff, "I was going to say I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions Zoro, but in this case, maybe I can let my actions speak a little louder than my words?"

Zoro looked at her in surprise, then grinned, "Sure thing," he stuck a sword in his mouth, "I'll handle defense," he pulled his second and third swords, "You beat the crap out of him with that staff of yours."

Cabaji lifted himself from the wreckage of his landing and staggered back to his feet coughing blood, "So…you can fight too huh girlie? Well…I'm no clown. Even though I killed Captain Buggy, I'm not taking up his moniker…" Zoro and Nami tensed, sensing that something was coming. Cabaji's grin turned victorious, "NOW RICHIE! HELP ME AVENGE MOHJI AND CAPTAIN BUGGY!" The massive lion burst through the wall on Zoro and Nami's left and Zoro jerked back as a dagger suddenly slammed into his shoulder and exploded, "AAAAGH!"

"I didn't have enough of the Buggy Balls left to just wipe this town off the map," Cabaji declared, "But I've got enough to finish all of you off!" Nami stared in horror at the smoking crater in the wall where Zoro had been and then she went pale and felt her heart stop as Richie the lion reminded her of his presence with a growl _right behind her_. Cabaji started towards the stairs grinning confidently and then pulled up short.

Zoro climbed out of the wall looking a little singed and a lot furious as he yanked the dagger out, "Is that so? Hate to break it to ya, but you're gonna need a lot more than that to stop me." Then one of his swords whirled and redirected the exploding dagger that Cabaji threw at him into Richie the lion. Richie the lion had chosen that unfortunate moment to have his mouth open in an attempt to bite Nami. Richie the lion did not get up after that one.

Cabaji stared with a twitchy eye, "Alright then, plan B…OPEN FIRE!" he roared and suddenly every window in the building was smashed in to reveal at least two battered Buggy Pirates behind each one with guns. Zoro realized with horror that they were all the ones Luffy had simply knocked out, and as ordered, they all opened fire. Zoro's life flashed before his eyes for a brief instant and then Luffy filled his vision.

" _DON'T_ …" Luffy snarled and then roared, " **MESS WITH MY FRIENDS!** " He threw his hands up and every bullet caught in his stretchy rubber hide was slung back at the pirate that had shot it. Cabaji's head whipped around to see his remaining comrades felled by their own bullets and his blood froze as he realized he was all alone against two of the three monsters that had slaughtered the rest of his crew. Luffy smacked a fist into his hand and growled, "So you haven't had enough yet huh?"

"If you don't mind Captain," Atlas called from where he was standing on the balcony, "I think I'd like to try something. If it works it'll finish him for sure. Not even his Devil Fruit can save him from this one." Luffy nodded as he kept his gaze locked on Cabaji, " _Do it."_

The air around Atlas and Cabaji began to ripple and Atlas seemed to almost purr, " _Damage Translocation."_ Suddenly Cabaji erupted in blood and collapsed. Atlas stood a little taller and grinned as he pulled his bandages off his face to reveal he was perfectly healed, "So I was right, that _is_ how it works! That's handy!"

Luffy Zoro and Nami stared in shock and then Nami looked up at Atlas, "What did you do?" Atlas smiled, "Ah there you are Nami. Didn't I tell you that you didn't need to worry about me? I just took all the wounds I pulled off you and slapped them on _him_." Nami stared, "So…you healed yourself and set all those injuries on him at the same time?" Atlas grinned down at her, "Yep! Cool huh?"

Then they all froze as they heard Cabaji whisper, "Plan C… _curtain call…_ " **BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**


	4. Chapter 4: Bandits

Chapter 4 – Bandits

Atlas lowered his hand, "I guess he had all of Buggy's grenades that were left on him as some sort of last resort to try and take us down with him."

Nami turned to stare at him, tearing her eyes away from the massive muffled inferno raging mere feet in front of her to point at it and ask, "Why are we not on fire?" "I opened a vacuum wall between us and Cabaji right before the bomb went off," Atlas explained, "That vacuum will stay open until I'm ready for it to close, and it won't let any air through to convey the shockwave or the heat to us. In fact I can probably…" He made a swift gesture and suddenly the fire snuffed itself out.

Nami stared at the space where the flames had been and then… "Hey guys, could I ask for your help with something?" "Of course," Luffy replied with a smile, "You're our friend, we'll help you with anything you need!"

Nami turned to him and a part of her wanted to tell him everything then and there, but she stopped herself, "I need to gather 100,000,000 beris. It's the most important thing in the world for me, I have to have that money so that I can…" she stopped herself short. Luffy smiled, "Alright then! 100,000,000 beris! We can do that! I know just where to get it!"

That brought Nami up short, "You do?" Luffy laughed, "Shishishishi, yep!"

==Two Days Later==

Nami was still in slight awe of what had just happened. Atlas had just _pointed_ and their little boat had taken off at speeds that she wasn't sure even gale force winds could match. They had sailed, no she was pretty sure the word for that kind of travel was _flown_ , to Luffy's home on Dawn Island, which she was pretty sure was usually a week's travel away if her map was right.

They had left at dawn the day after the battle with Buggy's crew and the ensuing attack by the survivors that night, and they had arrived at Dawn Island a little after midnight. Atlas had been eating steadily the whole time with his back turned to the salt spray being kicked up over the bow, and when they had finally reached the shore, he hadn't even bothered to make sure they were tied off before collapsing backwards, "Sleepy…"

Luffy and Zoro had tied the boat off while Nami stared in shock. Then a huge sea monster had reared up out of the water, taken one look at Luffy and gone back under. Nami got ashore pretty quickly after that. Luffy pulled Atlas out of the boat and tossed him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before shooting Zoro and Nami a grin with a thumbs up, "Ok! Let's go!"

Now they were up near the top of what Luffy had told them was Mt. Colubo as dawn cracked overhead. Nami took a moment to marvel at the sunrise that had given the island its name. In all the East Blue, Dawn Island was the eastern most of them all, and thus it was the first place the sun's rays touched in the East Blue every day. In most people's eyes, it was the furthest of all backwaters. Nami knew that she would _never_ have guessed there was 100,000,000 beris to be made there.

Now Luffy strode up to the rough timber building, set Atlas down outside and strode confidently through the open door like he owned the place, "HEY GUUUYS! I'M HOOO-OOOME!" There was a moment of silence and then the log building erupted with such a roar of noise that Atlas woke up immediately and scrambled away from the opening.

About fifteen minutes later, Luffy came out with a clan of mountain bandits headed by a huge woman with curly orange hair. Luffy raised a hand to indicate her, "Guys, meet Curly Dadan and the Dadan family! They're mountain bandits, but I like 'em anyway. They helped take care of me when I was little. Everybody, this is my crew," he pointed to each of them in turn, "Zoro, Atlas and Nami."

Dadan's eyes widened, "Zoro? As in the Pirate Hunter? How in the hell'd you recruit him?" Zoro shrugged nonchalantly, "Eh, he saved my hide and caught me between a rock and a hard place. It was join his crew or let the marines kill me. I had no intention of dying, so here I am." Dadan chuckled, "Attaboy Luffy! And I haven't heard of you two, but you must all have the patience of saints to put up with Luffy," she grinned, "so I guess you're all probably alright."

Then she looked down at Luffy, "So what's this you need our help with?" Luffy grinned devilishly and for the first time, all present believed he really was a _pirate_ at heart, "We're gonna clean out High Town's new bank. That opens two days from now right? Nami needs money and it'll be good payback for what they did to Sabo."

Dadan stared and then started laughing as she caught Luffy in a hug and the rest of the mountain bandits cheered, "I KNEW WE RAISED YOU RIGHT!"

==Two Days Later==

"Ladies and gentlemen," the bank owner declared to the crowd of nobles who had arrived to see the new home of most of their money, "On this most momentous day, I am proud to welcome you to our new bank, featuring a six-inch thick steel vault reinforced with one of the strongest materials in the world, the legendary Sea Prism Stone! This will be the safest place in the entire East Blue for your valuables!"

He gestured to the immense safe in the center of the bank's vast main hall, "Without further ado, guards, open the vault!" Two uniformed and armed guards turned the massive lock wheel on the front of the vault and the door swung open with surprising grace considering its tremendous weight. The crowd oohed at the sight of so much gold and money in one place as the safe was quite liberally filled with paper money and gold coins overflowing out of drop boxes and off of the shelves.

The bank owner had just a moment to frown in confusion over the disorganized state of the inside of his new vault and then a moan echoed out of the vault. The whole crowd including the several dozen armed guards froze. Then a man in blue with a black top hat sat up inside the vault, "Uuugh, where am I?" He got up out of the vault and brushed himself off before scratching his head, "Hmmm…"

The current king of Goa Kingdom, who was at the front of the crowd gawked for a moment and then snapped a glare at the guards, "Well don't just stand there! APPREHEND THAT THIEF!"

The guards immediately moved to apprehend the blonde man as instructed but pulled up short when someone yelled, "Wait there's a woman in there!" Another head of blonde hair had popped up in the safe as the blonde man tried to remember where he was and what he was doing. The blonde man paused his thinking, smiled at her and gave her a hand as she climbed out of the safe before declaring in a pleasant voice, "Thank you for a most enjoyable evening Sally."

The whole crowd proceeded to gasp as they recognized the queen who took that exact moment to realize where she was as King Stelly's jaw dropped, " _SALLY?!"_ Queen Sally proceeded to squeak in embarrassment and terror and flee the scene.

The blonde man watched her go and thought for a moment, then, "WAIT! I THINK I'VE GOT IT!" The guards opened fire as Stelly roared at them to shoot him. The blonde man caught all the bullets in his elastic stomach and the crowd dove for cover as the bullets came flying back the way they came when Luffy threw his hands to the air and gleefully declared, "I'M ROBBING THE BANK!" He spun and jumped up on top of the vault before it dropped right through the floor.

The crowd could only gawk as down below the masked members of the Dadan family quickly lashed the vault shut and tied it to the team of horses they'd rustled the day before. A quick shout of "YAAAH!" later and the vault went careening off down the tunnel that Atlas had opened using his powers the night before. Luffy rode on top of the vault as he howled with laughter, only able to hang on because of the thick gloves Atlas had told him to wear. A moment later, they raced through one of Atlas's portals and out into the clearing by the Dadan Family's hideout.

Atlas grinned over his shoulder as he closed the portal. The tunnel that he'd opened under High Town didn't actually lead anywhere, it was just a big circle. The authorities would undoubtedly waste hours trying to figure out how they'd pulled off their escape, and nobody had any idea who was responsible beyond Luffy, who had given a false name to the now thoroughly scandalous queen and was grinning as he pulled the blonde wig off and swapped out the top hat for his trademark straw one, "That. Was. AAAWESOME!"

Meanwhile, Nami was prancing with impatient excitement in front of the door as Zoro and Atlas moved to open it. They had learned to their dismay the night before that Atlas's powers did not work on locks made of Sea Prism Stone, and the attempt had been as bad for Atlas as touching it. That had worried them all considerably since Atlas had been firmly out of commission for half an hour, but since the bank had been so kind as to unlock it for them, all they had to do now was open it up aaand… "It's beautiful…" Nami whispered as she took in the sight of all the gold and money in front of her.

They could've cleaned the vault out the night before when they snuck Luffy and the very VERY drunk Queen Sally in via one of Atlas's portals, which thankfully _could_ jump past sea stone walls, but they had elected not to in order to stick it to the nobles of Goa in the most humiliating manner possible. Nami had refused to even look at the portal into the vault because she had known that if she saw even a glimmer of the gold inside that she would dive in and be impossible to drag out without every last beri in tow. She hadn't been happy about waiting, but the assurance that she would be getting a mountain of money had helped her swallow her impatience until morning.

Luffy grinned and patted the side of the now open safe, "Will this about cover it Nami?" Nami looked at him blankly for almost a full minute and then threw herself at him, "MARRY ME!" Zoro, Atlas and the Dadan family all stared and then started clapping whooping and cat-calling as Nami proceeded to lay one _hell_ of a kiss on the rubber bodied captain. When Nami was done she seemed to teleport into the safe to begin counting the loot with more excitement than a kid in a candy store.

When Luffy finally regained his senses a few minutes later, he walked over to Atlas and Zoro with his gaze on Nami, "Guys, what just happened?" Atlas and Zoro blinked. Zoro turned to the mountain bandits, "Hey guys, got any booze? I think I'm going to need some for the conversation that's about to happen."

Atlas patted Luffy on the shoulder, "You just made Nami very, very happy, so she was thanking you with a kiss. I don't think she was entirely serious about the marriage thing, but she'd probably at least let you steal another kiss or two from time to time."

Luffy pondered that, "So that was kissing. That was fun…Hey Nami! Can I have another kiss?" Nami was counting money at lightning speeds, "ninetyeightninetynine _THREEHUNDREDMILLION?!_ " Nami froze and then looked around her at the contents of the safe which she wasn't quite halfway through. Then she turned around and looked at Luffy, thought for a second and then a sly grin slid across her face. She climbed out, caught Luffy's face in her hands and laid another kiss on him, but this one was less of the explosion of happy than the first one had been. This was what could only be dubbed a raging hot smolder as Nami wrapped her arms around his neck and Luffy's instincts started to kick in so he could kiss her back.

When the two came up for air, Nami gave a very star struck looking Luffy a look hot enough that Atlas and Zoro could feel the heat from twenty feet away and said quietly, "Y'know, Zoro says you don't know what sex is…how about I show you?"

Luffy's eyes lit up, "Sure! Atlas and Zoro have been beating around the bush about telling me for days!" Nami grinned, "Don't worry, it'll be better as a surprise. Come on Captain!" She pulled him into the safe and pushed him over on top of the money with a huge grin before closing the door behind them.

Zoro, Atlas and the Dadan family could only stare in shock for a moment, then the cheering, whooping and catcalls started. Atlas howled with laughter, "I KNEW I GOT ON THE RIGHT SHIP! THAT'S OUR CAPTAIN!" "HELL YEAH HE IS!" Zoro laughed.

…

…

==Inside The Safe==

…

…

Inside the safe as she laid down next to Luffy, Nami blushed neon and covered her face with one hand for a brief shy moment as she heard the muffled cheers outside, then she remembered what she was lying on top of and any reservations she might've had evaporated. She rolled over on top of Luffy and straddled him, "So Captain, I can't _see_ very well in here, at least with my eyes, so let's you and me explore with our hands and mouths okay?"

Luffy blinked in the darkness, he could tell she was close from the short hair brushing against his face and the warmth of her breath on his cheek. Then as she said that he started paying a little more attention to what the rest of his body was telling him: large soft _something_ pressed against his chest, thin nimble fingers tangling in his hair to hold his head and pull him into _?!_ _!_ Another kiss, this one not quite like either of the first two, but somewhere in the middle.

The first one had felt like fireworks of happiness going off in his head when he realized what was going on, and the second one had been an invitation. He didn't know how he knew it was an invitation, but he had definitely known, and _this_ he decided quickly was what the invitation had been to. Nami came up for air, "Sorry if I'm not very good at kissing," she panted, "I've never done this before."

"Nah don't worry," Luffy replied with a grin, "That was amazing." Nami smiled with a small blush, "Well then, maybe we should do it some more." _"Yes."_ Luffy declared before surging up to kiss her some more. Nami responded enthusiastically and then her heart fluttered as Luffy sat up with her so that she was now straddling his lap and she noticed gravity doing its absolute level best to wake up her body's instincts.

Luffy for his part was quite a bit more in tune with his instincts and had learned over the years that when his body told him _DO IT_ in that really loud voice that roared in his ears and made his heart beat faster, his body was usually right. So now he came up for air briefly and moved his kiss to Nami's cheek, then her jaw line, then the corner of her jaw line, one, two, three down her neck to her collarbone and then… "Blegh, cotton…" Luffy grumbled as he felt the faintly scratchy fabric on his lips, a definitely less pleasant texture than Nami's soft warm… "Eh?"

He felt something move in his pants, something that usually _didn't_ move as he thought about how nice Nami's skin felt on his lips. He frowned and then he realized Nami was moving. A moment later Nami pulled his face into something, the large soft something that had been against his chest he realized at about the time he realized it was _two_ large soft somethings, and that these felt even better to kiss than the rest of her had. The scratchy cotton was gone now, now there were only two patches of some really soft but stiff fabric which he quickly bit and tugged out of the way of whatever wonderful soft bits of Nami were just begging him to, as she'd put it, "explore".

He felt something tight in his chest as he set about playing with his new toys, kissing and then licking the hard little nubs he found as he held Nami close to him. It was like the tightness in his chest right before a big fight, a feeling he knew the name of but couldn't quite put his finger on, only it was more intense than that. It was more than food, more than a fight or making a friend…

Then Nami moaned his name as he gently pulled at the little hard nub with his lips and it clicked: _EXCITEMENT_. Luffy grinned as he realized he had just found the fourth thing on his list of favorite things in the world and decided that whatever his body was telling him was _definitely_ right on the money.

…

…

==Meanwhile, Outside The Safe==

…

…

Atlas, Zoro and the mountain bandits pulled their ears away from the safe as one and breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay," Atlas declared with a smile, "I think we can relax now. Luffy definitely knows what he's doing. NOW LET'S PARTY!"


	5. Chapter 5: Drinking Games

Chapter 5 – Drinking Games

Atlas and Zoro sat at a table next to the safe with Curly Dadan. They were all silent for several drinks and then Atlas had had enough of the silence, "So, shall we play a drinking game?"

Zoro smiled slightly and Dadan cackled, "What's the game kiddo?" Atlas scratched his head under his hat, "Mmm…never have I ever?" "Never heard of it," Dadan replied. "How's it work?" Zoro added.

Atlas smiled thinly, "Well, we take turns, let's say starting with me, and we say something we've never done, then if someone else here _has_ done it, then they drink. So for a really obvious example I could say "never have I ever been a mountain bandit" and Dadan would drink but Zoro wouldn't."

Dadan grinned, "Ohhh I get it. Okay, never have I ever had Devil Fruit powers!" "Cheap shot Dadan," Atlas replied before taking a drink, "Zoro?"

Zoro thought for a moment, "Never have I ever cut steel." Atlas drank and Zoro almost dropped his bottle, "W-wait, I thought you said we were supposed to drink if we'd done a thing before!" Atlas looked at him blankly, "Yeah, that's right." Zoro's eyes widened, "You mean, _you know how to cut steel?!_ " Atlas blinked, "Yeah, I used to build things for a living. I'm no iron worker, but I've done my fair share of metal removal."

Zoro slumped slightly, "Oh, so you didn't mean with a sword…" Atlas raised an eyebrow, "No, I used machines to do it." Zoro raised his eyebrows, "What kind of machines?"

Atlas scratched his head, "Well the usual tool was a machine about as long as your forearm and about as thick. It had a six inch disc on the end of it which spun thousands of times a minute. You put the edge of the disc against whatever you want to cut and just let it eat right through, like water washing away stone. It takes a few minutes and sparks go everywhere, but it'll go through iron and even steel like a mouse on cheese. We called it a grinder because that's what it does. Now that I think about it, I don't think it truly counts as cutting, it's wearing the metal away at incredible speeds. For a sword to cut steel, you'd need to be moving the sword at insane speeds."

Zoro frowned, "Why would I need speed?" Atlas frowned at him, "Because force is equal to mass multiplied by the speed of acceleration. Meaning if you throw a five pound ball, but you throw it at sixty miles per hour, then when it hits it'll be packing three _hundred_ pounds of force. So, if you put more speed into your swing it'll multiply your strength. A glacier can carve up valleys and make rivers, but a meteor strike can punch open _oceans_. The other thing you would need is repetition, hitting the same spot over and over again. The first strike might not do it, the second might not, but the third? You never know, especially since I bet your swings pack a lot more force than my tiny little grinder could ever hope to." Atlas sat back and smiled, "I'm just glad you didn't ask for something _really_ hard, like cutting stone cleanly. That's _way_ harder."

Zoro sat up, "What are you talking about? I cut stone all the time! Stone's not as hard as steel!" Atlas sat forward, "Come again?"

Zoro stood up, "Watch this." He turned and walked over to a nearby boulder before drawing and re-sheathing his sword in an instant. He turned and the top half of the stone slid sideways and then fell off. Atlas gaped as Zoro jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "See? It's easy."

Atlas shook his head and stared again, "Eh, Zoro, you do realize that rocks normally _shatter_ when you hit them with that kind of force right? They don't just _cut_ clean as a whistle. What you just did is _infinitely_ more difficult than cutting steel unless you somehow hit it at a perfect cleavage point, which unless I mistake my guess..." He got up and walked over to examine the rock before sucking in a breath, "Zoro, do you have any idea what kind of rock this is?"

Zoro blinked, "No, why?" Atlas patted the cleanly severed boulder, "This Zoro, is _quartz_. It's one of the most abundant minerals in the world in its many, many forms. It's one of those rocks that shatters like glass if you strike it hard enough, meaning it should _never_ just up and be cut straight through like you just did. It should have shattered into a million pieces _if_ it broke at all. What you just did is _beyond_ crazy. Now beyond _that_ , let me explain the hardness of minerals to you. There is a scale, diamonds are a 10, chalk I believe takes the cake at weakest, being 1. Steel rates in at 4.5 or so last I checked. Quartz, what you just cut through with your sword, which _is_ steel right?"

Zoro nodded and Atlas continued, "Quartz is a **_7_**. It normally can't even be _scratched_ by steel. A strong enough shock can shatter it, but cutting it with a sword like wood or cake or anything else? No way in hell. You can cut _this?_ Steel should be cake for you Zoro. All I can guess is that you've got a mental block telling you that you can't, that or you've been encountering some metal _way_ stronger than steel and mistaking it for steel."

Zoro's eyes were wide and then he drew his white blade and looked at it before showing it to Atlas, "Can you tell me what metal this is?" Atlas looked closely, "May I?" Zoro thought about it for a second and then handed it over. Atlas took the sword with reverence and examined it closely, giving it a few practice swings. Then he handed it back to Zoro, "Cut me off a sliver of that quartz, we can find out for sure whether or not this is regular steel."

The blade seemed to flicker out like the tongue of a serpent and a small dagger of quartz broke off the boulder. Atlas gingerly lifted it, "Okay, now you're not gonna like this, but we have to attempt to scratch that blade with this point." Zoro froze, "What?"

"Shy of melting it down this is about the only way I know," Atlas said in an even tone, "We just need to see if it _can_ scratch the blade. If it can, then it's actually steel and you're just superhumanly strong and fast. If it can't, then either that's some crazy hardened steel and we'll need a chunk of confirmed hardened steel to test it, or it's not steel at all, in which case we have to find some other way to test it."

Zoro visibly struggled over the idea and then gently offered the tip to Atlas, "Just a teeny nick that I'll be able to polish out quickly. I don't like this." Atlas held the needle of quartz like a pencil and gently lowered it to the blade before quickly flicking his wrist. He and Zoro immediately leaned in with almost reckless speed to check the results. Nothing. Atlas stabbed the tip of the blade with the quartz needle and only succeeded in knocking it from his grip.

Atlas straightened up and nodded at Zoro as Zoro frantically inspected the blade, "That's either crazy hardened steel, some weird alloy, or not steel at all." He looked at Dadan, "I don't suppose any of you have a magnet anywhere?"

"Oh! I've got one!" Dogra exclaimed before bolting for the bandits' lodge. He scurried back a moment later with a small refrigerator magnet, "Will this do?" Atlas nodded, "It should yes." He accepted the magnet with a smile and then turned to Zoro, "Okay Zoro, if this sticks to it, then it's at least partially steel. If not, then it's some other metal. For the record, I don't think it's steel." He handed the magnet to Zoro who immediately tried to stick it to the blade in his hand. The magnet fell off and Atlas narrowly caught it, "And that answers that. Can I see one of your other swords?"

Zoro drew one of his other swords and allowed Atlas to stick the magnet to it. The magnet stuck. Atlas nodded, "May I?" Zoro reversed his grip on the hilt and handed it to Atlas. Atlas raised it and, "Yep, that's what I thought. That white blade of yours isn't steel Zoro, this is."

Zoro looked at the blade in his hand, "So what is it?" "My guess is tungsten carbide," Atlas replied, "It's nearly twice as heavy as this one, which tungsten carbide should be. I would guess it's also by far the strongest of your blades?"

Zoro nodded, "Yeah, it's never let me down, hardly ever even shown the wear a blade I use so much should, and normally even _good_ swords don't last more than a few months with me before they need a blacksmith's attention."

Atlas nodded as he returned Zoro's secondary sword to him, "My guess would be tungsten carbide or some other stronger-than-steel metal, because that in your hand my friend is _not_ steel." Atlas thought about it for a moment as he looked at the boulder Zoro had rent in two, "Of course, what you did to this boulder is _still_ freaking unnatural. Quartz does _not_ just up and cut like that, so I still say steel should be well within your abilities."

Then a thought crossed his mind, "Got it. Hey guys!" he called, "Someone get us a sword! Doesn't even have to be a sword, just has to be steel!" The bandits headed for the lodge and a few moments later returned, Mogra at their head with an old unloved sword. Mogra offered it to Atlas and Zoro, "We don't have many actual swords, but you can use this one if you like!"

Atlas smiled as he accepted it, "Thank you Mogra, this will do nicely." He raised a hand to the tip and created a small portal at one end before creating another at the other. He backed away and willed the portals to turn the blade horizontal, "Alright Zoro, let 'er rip!"

Zoro looked at the blade in his hand and then smiled, "Stronger than steel huh?" He gripped the hilt in both hands and turned to face the blade Atlas had suspended for him in mid-air. Zoro took a deep breath and exhaled as the mountain bandits and Atlas watched with baited breath. Then Zoro _moved_. It happened in the blink of an eye. One second he was preparing to strike, the next, two neatly severed halves of a sword tumbled to the ground from where Atlas's portals had held them. Zoro turned his blade to examine the edge, "Not a scratch…" he breathed.

The bandits and Atlas erupted in cheers. Zoro continued to stare at his blade in shock and then grinned and raised his blade overhead in triumph, "YEAH! I CAN CUT STEEL!" "Crazy Mosshead!" Atlas exclaimed, "You can cut shit that's _harder than steel!_ _Even the stuff that's not supposed to be cuttable!_ "

Zoro's smile suddenly took on a strange tinge as his eyes gained a faraway look. Nobody but Atlas was close enough to hear him over the cheers as he whispered to the sky, "Kuina, don't worry. I'll be there soon."

Atlas opened a portal to retrieve the bottles from the table and handed Zoro's back to him, "Drink brother, you've earned it."

Zoro accepted the bottle and blinked, "Brother?" "Brothers in arms are we not?" Atlas asked, "Same crew and all that. Plus, we make one hell of a tag team if Orange Town was anything to go by. Brothers?" He extended his bottle for a toast and after a moment of consideration Zoro smiled and clinked bottles with him, "Yeah, brothers." Then they downed their drinks and went back to their table by the safe to continue drinking and wait for their captain to finish.

"Shall we pick up where we left off?" Zoro asked, "I think it was your turn." Atlas grinned as he sat down, "Yeah, and I've got a zinger. This one gets _everybody._ " He shot a glance at Zoro, "Never have I ever… _fallen in love._ "

Zoro felt his heart skip a beat. His grip tightened around his bottle, _I could deny it…_ A memory of a tear stained smile and a vow made in greatest determination echoed through his mind, _No I can't._ Zoro raised his bottle, "You got me on that one." He drank. And drank. And drank. Atlas stared across the table at him as Zoro drained the bottle all in one go.

As Zoro lowered the empty bottle, Atlas noted the look in his eyes, _Those are the eyes of a broken heart if ever I've seen 'em._ "I'm sorry," Atlas said quietly, "I've never seen anyone that broken hearted when I brought that one up. I wouldn't have used that if I had known."

"Her name was Kuina," Zoro said quietly, "She was my rival, the one person I could never beat...and the person I looked up to more than any other. I've never admitted it before, not even to myself, but I can't even try to deny it. I promised her one of us would be the world's greatest, and I'd be lying through my teeth if I said anything less than the entirety of my heart was in that vow."

"She sounds wonderful," Atlas replied quietly, "May I ask why you're using past tense?"

"She died," Zoro whispered, "The morning after we made our vow…she tripped down the stairs…I never asked much about how she died, all that mattered was that she was gone...everything else was irrelevant compared to that."

"I see…" Atlas muttered. Silence reigned for quite a while between the two after that and then Zoro said quietly, "Never have I ever taken an enemy's advice." Atlas drank and Zoro looked over at him, "What was the advice?"

"It wasn't advice per se," Atlas clarified, "More over it was a way of looking at things. The man was a spy for a rival nation. I never had the chance to meet him, but I heard from a friend that whenever he was in a situation where most would panic, he would always keep completely calm. My friend would often ask him why he never seemed to get even a little nervous. The spy would ask if being nervous or afraid would help. That man was undoubtedly an enemy to my people, but I can't deny for an instant that his words of wisdom on that subject haven't been useful to me over the years, so I'd say it counts as advice. I can't maintain my cool quite as well as he did, but I've gotten a lot better than I used to be."

Zoro mulled Atlas's words over while Atlas tried to think of another one, "Never have I ever…" he looked at the bottle in his hand, "…allowed myself to get lost in alcohol." Zoro's hand tightened on the bottle he had just uncorked, but he didn't drink. "You've wanted to," Atlas observed, "But you won't let yourself." Zoro nodded and Atlas smiled, "Admirable."

Zoro flicked his gaze over at Atlas taking in the lax posture, lack of well defined muscle and the way he had fought in Orange Town, "Never have I ever wielded a gun because I didn't want to get in close."

Atlas blinked at him, "Do I give off that vibe?" Zoro eyed him a little more carefully as Atlas declared, "Ah screw it…" and threw a shot back. Atlas lowered his bottle and looked off into space thoughtfully, "You're not that far off though. While I do actually very much _enjoy_ fighting, I'm a mostly defensive fighter because I know I'm not that strong, so most of my fights involve me dancing back out of my foes reach, dodging and sometimes stonewalling whatever I can and waiting for them to screw up and give me an opening. I do quite like the ability of guns to end a fight before it can really start though. Now that I've got my Devil Fruit powers, I expect I might become slightly bolder and less cautious in my fights. Not much though," he added, "Charging in head first really isn't my style."

Zoro eyed him slightly warily, "So you would shoot someone in the back huh?" Atlas shrugged, "Back, front, side, doesn't matter to me _where_ or _how_ my foe is defeated, all that matters to me is that they can't hurt me or anyone I care about ever again. Poison, sucker punches and cheap shots, bombs, massive numerical superiority in my favor…if you're a samurai brother, then I'm a ninja. I protect those I care for by any means necessary. If the cost of my loved ones' safety is my honor," he spread his hands, "then so be it."

He was quiet for a moment and then, "I'm not strong like you Zoro. Physically I'm actually quite weak. You may not believe it based on Orange Town, but without my powers I'd have been hard pressed to handle even a handful of those pirates, and I doubt I could ever have taken out as many as I did." He sighed, "And as for my spirit, I don't have it in me to pursue such high aspirations as being the world's greatest _anything_."

Zoro raised an eyebrow, "So what do you want?" Atlas looked over at him, "Eh?" Zoro sat up, "Everyone wants _something_ , surely there's something you want to do with your life." Atlas snorted, then he chuckled, then he outright laughed. Zoro frowned, "What's so funny?"

Atlas's laughter stopped immediately and settled into a rather forlorn look, "Absolutely _nothing_." He swallowed, "It's, I guess you could call it a disease of the mind. It's made a plague of itself in my country, people's ambitions just…crumbled away. People's pride, their dreams…they _start off_ with dreams…but so, so many of us just…lose them…" He snorted with a small rueful grin as he put his head in his hands, "When I was a kid, I wanted to be so many things…a chef, a paleontologist, a superhero once or twice…a craftsman like my father and grandfather before me…oh, and I wanted to run an orphanage and write a book…Now?" The grin faded as he shook his head, "Now I can't even _remember_ what it's _like_ to have a dream. It's like my heart's run dry and turned into a barren black lump of stone."

Zoro was quiet for a few moments as he tried to process what he'd just heard, to imagine how that must feel, how anyone could possibly _exist_ like that, and then Atlas said quietly, "I guess…if I could have one thing, I'd want to remember what it feels like to be truly passionate about something, to really _feel_ at all. Rekindle the roaring bonfire that my heart used to be I suppose if I were to wax poetic." He sat back and looked up at the sky, "Yeah…" A small smile twitched up the corner of his mouth, "I guess that is what I want."

Before Zoro could respond Nami's shriek rang out straight through the walls of the safe, " **OH LUFFY!** " Zoro and Atlas both turned to look at the safe and turned back away blushing faintly. Atlas took a drink, "Of course, I'd take something like that too if I could get it. Go Cap!"


	6. Chapter 6: Pit Stop

Chapter 6 – Pit Stop

==The Next Day==

The small boat set out from the same dock it had landed at, now quite a bit larger to accommodate all the gold, courtesy of Atlas's powers. "Proportion field!" he'd declared with a grin, "My newest trick and I think it'll be one of my best. Check it out!" A rippling appeared in between his hands and around the boat, then as he dragged his hands apart, the boat grew. In moments the boat had gone from a small dinghy to a small but still respectably sized ship, nearly four times as big as it had been. Atlas grinned and flipped the gold coin in his hand before catching it out of the air, "Now you see why I was content with such a small share of the profits!"

Nami had nearly fainted and Luffy had carried her onto the ship in a single bound before setting her on the now bed sized cushion that had once been a mere pillow. He had immediately begun checking her for fever and other signs of sickness, questioning seriously if she was feeling alright. Atlas had cackled and shrunk the fruits of their thievery down to where he could carry them in his pocket before attempting to scoop them up and learning that even if he'd reduced their size, he hadn't reduced their _weight_ at all. An embarrassed moment later he activated a gravity reduction field around the pile of gold and money and scooped it up before climbing over onto the ship and setting it on the pillow next to Nami.

Then he snapped his fingers and the proportion and gravity reduction fields shut off, returning the loot to its proper size and weight. Those who weren't on their toes (everyone but Atlas) were instantly thrown off balance as the ship settled almost two feet into the water. Atlas's only reaction was to toss a tarp over the loot and grin mischievously at them, "Our heading Captain? Miss Navigator?"

Nami had pointed him in the right direction after checking a map and compass pulled from inside her shirt and a moment later they were off again, bouncing over the waves as Atlas sat in the bow and ate through a chunk of meat he'd liked and grown to be nearly as big as he was. After about an hour, Atlas paused in his munching and looked up at Nami before getting up sliding across the deck to her.

He gestured her close and called over the wind, "How far are we going?" Nami thought for a moment and then pulled out her map to check, "I think it's about eighty six hundred kilometers! Normally even if we made a beeline straight for it we'd still take a month to get there! How fast are we going?!"

"About seventy miles per hour!" Atlas replied, "Almost two kilometers a minute!" Nami took a moment to stare at him and he took that moment to do some math in his head before continuing, "Even if we went like this twenty-four seven, which I'm letting you know right now there is _no way in hell_ I can keep that up, it would still take us about three days to get there! Are you okay with us taking a week to get there?! Give me some time to rest and get to where I won't just drop dead of exhaustion? I don't know if I can go much faster than this and I certainly don't want to find out the cost is my life!"

Nami could only stare, _A week? This was supposed to be a month and a half long journey!_ The thought of being able to see her home again in a mere _week_ blossomed in her mind and she felt a smile grow on her face. She caught Atlas's face and kissed him, "You're a travel miracle! Keep it up and when we get there I'll introduce you to my sister! She might just thank you the same way I thank Luffy! Hell _I_ might thank you the way I thank Luffy!" She went to go back to her seat and then paused and turned to back to him, "While you're doing the impossible, can I have the moon?!"

"In the sky, every night!" Atlas replied with as flat a look as he could muster, "I'm good, not God!" Nami grinned and shrugged, "A girl's gotta try!"

Atlas turned to go back to his spot in the prow and had the breath snatched right out from under his nose. Atlas covered his nose and cursed the wind loudly before pulling a hand back and conjuring a void in it. He flung the void at the bow and it expanded, stopping the wind and deflecting it around the ship easily. Atlas almost fell flat on his face at the sudden lack of wind resistance. He pinwheeled his arms for a second and then caught himself before looking around to see if anyone else had seen his stumble. He saw his three shipmates looking at him and flashed them a thumbs up, "Wind shield! Dunno why I didn't think of that sooner!"

In the relative quiet, he was able to return to a normal carrying tone, "I don't know if this'll drain me faster, but if we stop at an island tonight, and I think we probably should just to get some supplies, then I'll get some lumber and tools and build us a cabin on this tub so we can be inside out of the wind so much!"

It was then that Luffy realized there was no food aboard other than what Atlas had and immediately began to agitate for a supply stop.

…

…

Two Hours Later

…

…

"Welcome to Park Island," Nami announced as Luffy and Zoro hauled the ship over to the dock and Atlas tied it off. Atlas used his Proportion Field to puff the rope from a thin strand to a cable as thick as his arm, ensuring that there was no way in hell it could come loose without being actively _cut_ , and no ordinary swing would do for it in a single cut either. _Zoro could probably do it,_ Atlas mused, _but I doubt any random passerby could get through it in one go. It would take a few minutes._

Atlas turned to his shipmates, "If you guys want to come along, I'm gonna go rustle up some lumber and nails to get us a cabin built." Zoro eyed the lush greenery and cobblestones in the midday sun, "Nah, I think I'm gonna go find a spot for a nap. I can't sleep when we go that fast, too many bumps."

Atlas nodded, "Alright. Luffy, you coming?" Luffy frowned, "Are you going to find food?" Atlas shook his head, "No, I need building materials, and I _have_ food. You're the one who ate through his lunch in the first half hour." Luffy pouted at being reminded of his own short sightedness, "I'm gonna go find some food." Atlas nodded, "Alright. Make sure you get enough to last until you get back here where I can multiply it."

Luffy took off grumbling and Zoro and Nami cast identical glances at Atlas. "Are you _sure_ you're not the captain?" Nami asked in complete seriousness. Atlas blinked at her, "Of course I'm sure. I'm the Quartermaster. I make sure we've got what we need and smack Luffy in the head with his own shortsightedness until he isn't shortsighted anymore." He cracked a crooked twitchy grin as he realized another problem now on his plate, " _And_ I gotta figure out how to keep that rubber bellied lunatic from eating through all our food stock while I'm not looking. Do ya suppose he'd eat it if I shrunk it down to the size of crumbs and hid it in a teeny tiny box that I kept on me all the time?"

Zoro and Nami thought about it and then, "If you shrunk it down and kept it on you, you _might_ be able to keep him from finding it," Zoro declared, "But you'd need to mask the scent as well."

Atlas nodded, "Good point, I'll build and enchant a lock box while I'm working on the cabin." He turned to Nami, "Any idea where I can get some lumber and nails? You seem like you've been here before."

Nami thought for a moment and then smiled, "Yeah, I think I remember seeing a general store last time I was here. It's not a very highly populated island, so I don't think there's a shipyard, but I bet the general store will have something."

Atlas nodded and extended a hand ahead and an elbow to Nami, "Shall we Miss Navigator?" Nami smiled cheekily as she looped her arm through his, "Yes I believe we shall." Off they went, with Zoro headed for the woods and inadvertently trailing Luffy.

…

…

A Little While Later

…

…

"So Atlas," Nami asked as she walked alongside her surprisingly agreeable pack mule, "What made you join up with Luffy and Zoro?" Nami _was_ carrying one medium sized bag, but the other dozen _immense_ bags were hung on the single board Atlas had bought at the general store. Atlas was sure that ordinarily he'd have been hard pressed to carry so much, let alone comfortably, but thanks to his Devil Fruit powers he'd been able to reduce all of Nami's shopping and his single plank to a total weight of zero. The bag of nails he'd shrunken down and stuck in a pocket of his coat along with a hammer.

Atlas shrugged, "Eh, saw 'em fighting a pack of Marines. I stopped to watch and was rewarded with seeing the Marine captain ordering his entire troop to commit suicide. When Luffy started beating the crap out of him extra for it, the captain's son tried to hold Luffy's friend hostage and I decided to intervene. I shot the idiot's pistol out of his hand and Zoro finished off the captain before he could axe Luffy from behind. After that we had lunch and I decided I liked 'em, so now here we are."

Nami mulled that over for a moment, "What do you think of Luffy?" Atlas grinned at her cheekily, "Uh oh, doubts over sleeping with him?" Nami blushed, "No. Maybe…I, it felt so right at the time, but in retrospect I hardly know anything about him. You're his friend, what kind of person is he?"

Atlas smiled, "He's a childish idiot, but he's our childish idiot. He's like that goofy little brother that gets into so much trouble but you love him anyway, so you get into it with him so that you can get him back out of trouble when he gets in over his head. Then of course," he added, "There's also the fact that he's also a lot tougher than I am, so I have no doubt that he'd probably be just fine on his own. He's selfish and shortsighted, but he's also kind and honest. He's even honest about how selfish he is, and even though he grumbled about not having food, did you notice that he didn't even _try_ to blame anyone else? He knew he screwed up and accepted the consequences of having to go find more food. He's a good guy Nami."

Then Atlas's face fell slightly into a more serious expression, "That being said, I'd like to request that you not kiss me anymore until we know how he feels about you. Not that I didn't enjoy that kiss, you are an exceptionally attractive young woman. However, I can't and _won't_ ignore the fact that you did in fact sleep with Luffy. If Luffy wants to pursue a one-on-one relationship with you, then I'm not going to spit on my friend's attempts and whatever fledgling feelings he might have for you." Nami blushed crimson and Atlas continued, "Oh, and if you string my friend along, you'd better pray that he doesn't object or you get away before I find out, because if you hurt my friend, I'll be the first to tie you to an anchor and toss you overboard."

Nami blinked at the blunt protectiveness, "How long have you guys been friends again?" "I believe we might be approaching a week now," Atlas replied, "But it hardly matters. I accepted Luffy as my captain, and that means I'm honor bound to follow and aid him. If he wants to go dive off the ends of the earth, I'll be right behind him with a spare parachute to strap onto his crazy ass and help him. When you only have three friends in the whole world, you get attached fast." He smiled, "I'm up to four plus a clan of mountain bandits now, but still. I'll take it _very_ badly if you break Luffy's heart or try to take advantage of him."

Nami was quiet for a moment, "Am I one of those friends?" "Would I be carrying all this if you _weren't_ my friend?" Atlas replied dryly before nudging her with his shoulder and a grin, "Of course you're my friend Nami! That's why I'd be so pissed if ya hurt Luffy, it'd be a total betrayal ya know? It's horrible when friends hurt each other, so it really pisses me off when it happens, but as long as you're not some back stabbin' bitch we've got your back through anything!"

Unseen by either of them, Luffy and Zoro sat at a nearby café table eating and listening attentively. Luffy frowned while Zoro nodded approvingly. Luffy looked over at Zoro, "Ehhh, Zoro, why is Atlas acting like Nami might be an enemy?"

Zoro looked over at him and sighed. He reached out and caught a passing waiter, "Hey waiter, I need booze." The waiter nodded and leaned down, "Of course sir, do you have any preferences?" "Strong," Zoro replied, "I'm about to have to do a lot of explaining and I'm going to need a drink afterwards." The waiter nodded, "Ah, I see. Very good sir, I'll have it right out to you."

Zoro looked back across the table at Luffy, "Okay, you know what you and Nami did in the safe right?" Luffy nodded, "Uh-huh, that was great! What about it?"

Zoro nodded, "Okay, do you _understand_ what you did in the safe?" Luffy nodded, "Yeah I thrust my-?!" Zoro reached across the table and covered Luffy's mouth, "Not that part, I know from how loud she was that you understood the physical part. I was referring to the other bit, which you are clearly clueless about." He sighed, "Which means I have to explain that too."

He looked up at the sky, then looked over at Luffy, "Okay, you know about moms and dads, right?" Luffy nodded, "Yeah." "Okay," Zoro explained, "What you and Nami did was attempt to become a mom and dad." Luffy's eyes were as wide as the brim of his hat, " ** _EHHHHHHHHHHH?!_** "

Zoro waved Luffy's shock down, "Oi, oi, keep it down. So anyway, it's a really important thing that you two did. It's supposed to mean that Nami thinks the absolute _world_ of you. However, a lot people will do that with just anybody, and it doesn't mean anything at all. Are you with me so far?" Luffy nodded with a thoughtful expression and Zoro continued, "Okay, so there are some people out there who will do that with people to get them to do what they want. Like using a sword for one fight and then tossing it aside like garbage. Understand?"

Luffy nodded, "So, Atlas was trying to make sure Nami isn't one of those people?" Zoro nodded, "Right, and he was warning her that if she _was_ that kind of person, then she had better be up front about it and not to dare to hurt your feelings by letting you think she wasn't if she was."

Luffy frowned, "Why would it hurt my feelings?" Zoro sighed, "Okay, I'll break it down for you. You like Nami, right?" Luffy nodded, Zoro continued, "And you want Nami to like you right?" Another nod, "So what she did with you in the safe should mean she likes you _a lot_." Luffy smiled and Zoro pounced, "But what Atlas is worried about is the possibility that it _doesn't_ mean that, that she doesn't care at all and she's just using you to get rich."

Luffy's mood did an instant one-eighty, " _What._ " The glowering death glare and tone ensured that nobody could have mistaken it for a question.

Zoro nodded, "You see? That is what Atlas is trying to find out. We don't know one way or the other about Nami right now. If tonight she tries to do it with you again, and then when we get to her next stop she up and ditches us, then we can assume that she didn't actually care about or like us." Luffy's expression was like a thundercloud as Zoro spoke quickly, " _BUT_ , if she doesn't try to do it again and stays wherever we're going, then we can assume she did like you but not that much and she was just trying to thank you." Luffy's expression softened slightly and Zoro went on, "Or alternatively she might actually like you a whole lot and want to sail with us so she can be with you and maybe do it a lot more."

The corner of Luffy's mouth twitched up, "Okay! So Nami's a mystery!" Zoro nodded, "Yes, Nami's a mystery." Then Luffy frowned, "But why did she kiss Atlas?"

Zoro sighed, "I don't know. That's how we found out she was a mystery. If she was kissing him to get her way, then we should be wary. If she was kissing him because she _likes_ him, then maybe she just likes you both. She knows I don't care about kissing, so I doubt she'd kiss me."

The gears in Luffy's brain started to smoke as he thought hard, "So…" He smacked a hand into his palm as a lightbulb went on over his head, "I should do that thing with Nami _and_ Atlas!" Zoro tried to process what had just left Luffy's mouth and then Luffy jumped up, grabbed him by the shoulder and declared, "You too! Captain's orders! Let's go!" Then he took off, his arm stretching just enough to allow a mortified Zoro to accept the booze the waiter had just brought out and pay with a forlorn expression before... _YOING!_

The only thought on Zoro's mind as he was yanked down the street after his runaway captain was, _What the hell did I do to deserve this?!_

A moment later when Luffy caught up to Nami and Atlas, Nami had the same thought right before a shriek of indignation and a slap that spun Luffy's head until his neck resembled a corkscrew. Atlas and Zoro could do nothing but stand by and face palm as Nami kicked Luffy between the legs and was furious to see it had no effect. Luffy's head spun back around with a confused look on his face, "Does that mean no?" **_POW!_**

Zoro and Atlas both stared as Nami's punch launched Luffy across the street, " **IT MEANS** ** _HELL_** **NO!** " Nami shrieked. She turned a death glare on Zoro and Atlas, " _Did you two have anything to do with this?!_ "

"Told ya Nami," Atlas said bluntly, " _Idiot._ " "I tried to explain to him the importance of what you did with him," Zoro declared, "I can't believe he got _that_ out of my explanation."

Luffy walked back up with an impressive goose-egg on his head, "I don't get it, why not?" Atlas walked over, stepped between Nami and Luffy, "I think I'd better try it this time." He turned Luffy around, threw an arm across his shoulder and began a quick quiet conversation.

Nami stood there fuming and Zoro started drinking. A moment later Atlas turned around with Luffy, "Okay, I think I can put it into understandable terms. Luffy likes Nami, a lot. Luffy also likes me and Zoro, a lot. Where he's getting muddled up is that he does not understand the difference between romantic like and friendship like. He knows that being with him made you feel good Nami, and he wants to make you feel better still. He also knows that the three of us, while each awesome individually, are best as a team, and therefore he thinks that if all three of us were to pitch in, he could make you feel so amazing that you would never want to stop being his friend. He's not trying to press his advantage Nami, he's just really _really_ simple and undereducated about romance and adult stuff, and he's trying to do what he thinks would be the nicest thing possible for you."

Nami eyed Luffy who had been steadily nodding the whole time. It started as a level look, then it turned to a glare that made Luffy feel about an inch high. Nami kept it up for a minute and then in a voice that made Atlas and Zoro both take a step back to clear the way for whatever unholy fury they were certain was about to break loose, "Luffy, is that true?"

Luffy nodded and gave her a thumbs up, "Of course! I want it to be as awesome for you as possible! And three heads are better than one right? Isn't it better if you're free to do that thing with anyone you like instead of only having to rely on me?" Then he frowned, "But, you really didn't seem to like that idea much, I thought it made sense…"

There was a round of blinks and then realization dawned and Nami asked, "Luffy, were you trying to say that you don't mind if I do it with Atlas and Zoro too?" Luffy nodded emphatically, "YEAH! They're my best friends, I'd trust them with anything! Even you, and I'd take you over meat!"

Three heartbeats skipped in unison as Luffy's words registered. Nami blushed, Zoro almost choked on his whiskey, and Atlas's jaw hit the street. Atlas picked his jaw up and wiped a tear from his eye, _"AND THAT IS WHY HE'S THE CAPTAIN! DAMMIT LUFFY, YER MAKIN' ME GET ALL CHOKED UP!"_

Nami put her face in her hands blushing and took a deep breath. She let it out and then peeked out between her fingers a moment later, "Atlas, go get that cabin built," she blushed crimson, "and make sure you build a nice big bed. We're breaking it in tonight...All of us." Then she caught Zoro by the lapel, jerked him over into a kiss and stole the whiskey from him before taking a drink when she was done. She handed the bottle back to Zoro who was looking at her stunned.

Nami tangled her fingers in her hair and muttered under her breath before sighing, "Even if I were _going_ to charge you three for this, what we got from the heist was enough to pay for multiple times for each of you…and Atlas can make _infinite_ money with his powers, so no matter what I charge you all," She kissed Luffy and then Atlas, "I know you're good for it." Then she winked, "Leave the bags, I'm gonna make these two carry them. You go get to work on the ship."

Atlas stared for a moment, blushing as red as his beard and hair, and then he disappeared, leaving the bags in Luffy's hands. Nami took a deep breath and then let it out before turning to her two new pack mules. A devilish grin slid across her face, "Alright you two, let's get going! I don't get to show off often, and I want to go get some things since I'll have an appreciative audience tonight."

…

…

A Moment Later

…

…

Atlas reappeared back at the ship and grinned, "Time to see what these powers can do!" He leapt aboard the deck and swung his board around out in front of him. He willed it to levitate and then climbed over on top of it and sat, the gears whirling as he tried to design an adequate ship in his head.

"Let's see…" he muttered, "Coby said it was the toughest sea in the world…better iron clad this baby. It won't stop monsters like Zoro and Luffy, but it should at least turn the average cannonball. _Proportion Field!_ " He grew one of the nails in his pocket to what he guessed to be about twenty feet, or long enough to reach from the prow to the stern and then spread it wide. He looked over the side, "Now how the hell am I gonna get it over there… _Zero Gravity Field._ " He effortlessly lifted the now weightless steel and carefully floated it into place on the starboard side.

A moment or two later, _"_ _Close."_ The opening between the metal and the wood reduced itself to nothing and then when Atlas was sure the steel had molded itself to the bottom of the boat, " _Scramble._ " He felt the metal heat up to the point where it was almost painful to hold and then he had to back off and catch his breath while he let the stinging in his hands fade. He grinned at the now iron clad side of the ship, "Oh yeah, this is gonna be good."

Three hours later of insanely fast design, manufacturing and assembly later, he grew the ship's metal wrapped upper cabin and innards to size and fused them to the hull. When Luffy Nami and Zoro returned an hour after that, Atlas was just putting the finishing touches on the command deck atop the forecastle and the ship's intricate rigging system. Zoro raised an eyebrow, "Hey Atlas, what're you doing? That's not big enough to be a cabin for all three of us!"

Atlas grinned devilishly at him, "Isn't it though? _Proportion Field!_ " He threw his arms wide and suddenly the ship expanded tenfold. No longer a mere twenty feet long skiff, now it was a whopping two hundred feet long iron clad pirate _galleon_! Atlas leapt over to the railing and threw his hands up in triumph, "TADAAAAAAAAA!" He was rewarded with the sight of his friends staring in shock, "come aboard!" He crowed, "It's time for the tour! HAHAAAAA!"


	7. Chapter 7: Upgrade

Chapter 7 – Upgrade

==In The Bowels Of The Ship==

"This here's going to be the engine deck," Atlas explained as he raised used a portal to illuminate the very deepest bowels of the ship, "I didn't have time to do everything I wanted this afternoon, I was working on the living quarters, but when I'm done this baby'll be one of the fastest and most versatile ships in the world, capable of fighting on land or sea." He grinned, "Hell, I may even try to figure out how to make it fly."

Nami raised an eyebrow at him, "Fly? Don't you think you're being a little overly ambitious?" "Do you really think you can do it?" Luffy asked with stars in his eyes.

Atlas raised an eyebrow with a grin, "Hell yeah I can do it! I could do it right now with my zero gravity field, but it takes so much out of me that it's not really worth it unless it's an absolute emergency. If I'm gonna call it a _flying_ ship then it has to be able to fly on its own without my devil fruit powers to keep it in the air." His grin widened, "Amphibious though I can _definitely_ do."

Nami frowned at him, "Seriously? You can make this ship capable of going on land as well as it does the sea?"

Atlas pouted at her slightly, "Don't you trust me? We've had amphibious vehicles back home for decades! I can make the necessary adjustments to this easily thanks to my powers! The only thing I haven't figured out yet is how I'm going to power it independent of my devil fruit powers. I have no idea how to even find gas in this part of the world, so I've gotta either find some to build an engine or find an alternative. My powers can handle it, but it'll drain my energy and leave us dead in the water whenever I sleep or get knocked out."

Nami frowned, "Gas?" Atlas nodded, "Gasoline, if I can find a reasonable supply then I can build an internal combustion engine with my powers. The controls will be a pain to design and manufacture, but I think I can do it. I don't want to do it though, at least not until I can find a good amount of it. Thanks to my powers even a drop could keep us in fuel for the rest of our lives, but I have to find a deposit first, and there's also the heating and insulation issue to think about. Plus I'd need to make a battery. I probably could, but I don't know for sure exactly how those work, so until I can figure all that out, I'll be hunting an alternative power source."

Nami nodded, "Okay, so maybe you _can_ do all that, but you still haven't explained how you're going to make a ship go up on dry land." Atlas sighed, "Oh ye of little faith, tractor treads and wheels. The aggressive tread can double as paddle wheels and with the right design the wheels, which I'm going to put back there," he pointed towards the aft, "will also be able to double as powered steering. We won't have to rely on the wind or currents for jack squat. We'll still need to take them into account, but we'll be able to power through anything short of an out and out maelstrom or tsunami, and we'll be able to move as fast as the machinery can handle, which is about 20 knots per hour for the average motor."

Atlas was completely oblivious to Nami's dropped jaw as he mused, "That's still only a little over half of what we were doing this morning, I bet I can make us go faster than that." He smiled, "But that's enough about the engines! Let's head up and I'll show you the galley!" Then he noticed the rest of the crew's reactions, "Eh, guys?" He crossed his arms and pouted, "I didn't think it was _that_ boring."

It was then that Nami noticed that Luffy and Zoro had both nodded off standing up. Nami took offense on Atlas's behalf and grabbed them both by the ears before slamming their heads together, "WAKE UP!" Luffy and Zoro leapt apart, clutching the sides of their heads as Nami lit into them, "Atlas just said he's making this into the fastest and most powerful ship I've ever even heard of, and you two are just dozing off?! What kind of pirates don't care about having an incredible ship?!"

Zoro frowned at Nami and then looked at Atlas, "So how do you plan to power the engines if you can't find any of this gasoline stuff?"

Atlas smiled, "Oh good you were listening! I have no idea what I'm going to do for our back up power, but I'm not pulling the mast and sails down, so we'll still have good old fashioned sailing, and thanks to my devil fruit I'll be able to power and control the engines with my mind, so they'll work perfectly whenever I'm awake."

Zoro nodded and Luffy asked, "So where do you usually find this gassybean?" " _Gasoline_ Cap," Atlas replied, "I never worked in the oil industry, so I'm not completely sure how or where to get it, but to the best of my understanding it exists in large pockets beneath the earth and ocean floor, extremely difficult to access. My people have only been using it for a couple of decades because our technology only advanced enough to make it accessible a few decades back. There are other methods to produce similar results, but I don't have a very in depth understanding of them since they never really caught on. That's why I want to find something different, gasoline's hard to get at. My powers may render it all completely void if I can find a way to make them work the engines constantly without using all my energy and attention, but until I get the engines built I won't know for sure whether or not I need it. Basically whenever we get to a new island we just need to be on the lookout for any sort of explosive substances for me to experiment with."

He raised a hand to his hat as he looked up at the ceiling, "I wonder if solar power would work…" then he looked at the wall, "And salt water contains chlorine and sodium…chemical power might work…" He shook his head, "Gotta start building the engines before I start worrying about how to power them. Moving on before I overthink myself into a stupor, to the galley!"

…

Upstairs

…

The galley was wrapped in polished steel, "Lemme tell ya," Atlas declared with a grin as he waved to the room before them, "Finish work has never been my strong suit, I'm too much of a slob, but with that in mind, I also know how messy people are. So I made a solid steel sheathing for the entire interior of the galley and kitchen. With normal steel interiors like this, you've got little grooves and what have you, but since I can use my abilities to shape the steel to my whims, I was able to build this solid. Meaning whenever it gets too dirty, we can just throw water on it and it'll carry all the dirt and grime down the drains and down into the bilge in the engine room."

Luffy was sitting on a bar stool and spinning, giggling like a loon, "So cool…" Zoro was on the stool next to him, leaning on the quartz counter, "So what's through the doors? Don't tell me you managed to build an entire kitchen too!"

Atlas smirked, "Not entirely no, I didn't have the materials or a power source to construct the necessary appliances, but if I can't find anything in town before we leave tomorrow, then I'll build a wood stove and we can cook with it. I'm no great chef, but I can cook a little and I very much doubt that I'll make a cooking fire hot enough to melt a solid steel oven, so even if I can't find a proper electrical oven I can improvise something. Anyway, back there with the kitchen are the pantry and cook's quarters. I insulated the pantry and added extra armor in the process, so the food should stay cool and protected until we're ready for it no matter what."

Atlas eyed Luffy subtly trying to sneak towards the double doors that led to the kitchen, "And the door to the pantry has a powerful combination lock that'll spike right through the fingers of any would be food thieves with gum-gum powers and straw hats." Luffy froze in mortification as Atlas's words registered and he whirled around, "What?! Why would you build something so mean?!"

Atlas frowned, "Luffy, think about what happened this morning. You packed enough food for one meal, and then you had eaten it all within an hour and were hungry for lunch! We had to stop to get you something to eat, which if we were running from the marines or racing to a time sensitive treasure, we wouldn't be able to do! You'd starve or lose the treasure if you ate all your food right away! I'm the quartermaster, that means it's my job to make sure that you _don't_ eat all the food right away and then miss out on something important. If that means building a really nasty booby trap into the door of the pantry, then so be it!"

Luffy thought about it then asked in annoyance, "Don't you have any faith in me?" "As my leader, yes, I have absolute faith in you Luffy," Atlas replied, "However as someone who I've seen eat enough to feed _ten_ BIG men for a day in a matter of minutes, no I have very little faith in your ability to keep from sneaking snacks because I know that your version of a _snack_ is anyone else's version of a _feast_. Seriously, without my powers to stretch our food out, we'll have to completely resupply on a weekly basis! I'll feed you as much as you want, but please let me get it for you so that I can prepare a suitable amount for you and have some left over for everyone else!"

He could see Luffy start to waver and then grinned, "Because if we starve on account of being in the middle of the ocean with no fish biting and you ate all the food…" his grin warped into something utterly demonic, " _Zoro and I will chop you into pieces and eat_ _ **YOU**_ _instead!_ "

Luffy went ghostly pale, "Z-zoro wouldn't…" Zoro slid his white blade an inch out of its sheath, "Don't test that theory." Luffy almost fainted and Nami intervened, "Oookay, threats of cannibalism aside, why don't we go look at the next deck up?"

Zoro sheathed his blade, "Right, I thought I saw a gym up there?" Atlas grinned, "That you did! Grab Luffy and follow me!" Zoro caught Luffy by the collar and dragged the still horror stricken captain along with an eager grin.

…

Level 3 – General Quarters

…

Atlas crossed his arms as he looked at the wide open space on the third deck of the ship, "This one I left mostly open since I don't know how many crew members we're going to have. I built a bathroom back there over the bilge, and I threw together some training equipment in passing. Got a weight rack, some assorted bars for chin-ups and what have you, punch weights, and a smack-you-back tree for hand to hand training."

"Smack-you-back tree?" Nami asked with mild concern. Zoro grinned and went over to the tree in question, "They're not really my style but I've heard of them. I've never tried one since I prefer swords, but I'll give it a try." His open hand lashed out and in an instant his hands and the sticks on the tree had become a hurricane of clashing motion. Atlas could only gape as he watched Zoro's hands fly, _So fast!_

After a moment Zoro stepped back and looked at the tree in admiration. Atlas noted that he was actually breathing slightly harder than normal as he turned to look at them, "Hey Atlas, think you can improvise some sort of sword based version of this thing?" "If I can then they'll be clubs so you don't slice yourself to ribbons by mistake," Atlas replied, "but yeah, I'll see what I can do."

Zoro grinned, "Awesome. There aren't many swordsmen in the East Blue who can give me a workout, so it'll be nice to be able to fight an effective mirror version of myself."

Atlas nodded, "And speaking of fighting…" He jerked a thumb over to a roped off area, "Sparring ring. Before you even ask Zoro, you're gonna have to spar with Luffy. I don't know exactly how much stronger and faster you are than me, but I know you'd squash me like a bug."

Nami, Luffy and Zoro all looked at him in shock and Atlas grinned, "Oh I see you're finding that hard to believe. I can see how you might given what it looks like when I fight, but that's entirely the result of my skill with my Devil Fruit. Let me give you an example. Would anyone here disagree that of the three of you, Nami is physically the weakest?"

Three heads shook and Atlas gestured to the weight rack with a smile, "Well then, Nami, would you kindly show us the heaviest of those weights you can lift with one hand? They're labeled accurately." Nami walked over to the weight rack and started checking through the metal dumbbells, which had weights ranged in size from half a fist to bigger than a man's head, "Why do you have so many?"

"So that even weaklings like me can work their way up," Atlas said quietly, "Do you see one you'd care to try?" Nami reached out and gripped one before effortlessly lifting it from its perch and pumping it a few times, "This one would be a pretty good workout I think."

Atlas walked over and examined the weight, "The 20 kilogram. Where I come from, that's actually considered a pretty good chunk of weight. I'm not that strong for someone from my home country, but I like to think I'm not that weak either. I'm no paper pushing bean counter, but still…" he extended a hand, "May I?"

Nami handed over the weight as though it were as light as a pencil and Atlas blinked as it rested in his hand, "What the heck?" He looked down at it in confusion, checking the number, "Yep, this is the 20 kilogram…so why…" He pumped it effortlessly, "That is _really_ weird…I was never this strong before…"

He put the weight back on the rack and reached for the biggest one there, "100 kilograms…no way in… _fack…_ " he squawked as he actually budged the massive weight. Then he reached over with his other hand, adjusted his grip and lifted it with a small grunt before holding it between his hands at chest height with a confused look, "For the record, I have _never in my life_ been this strong."

He set it back carefully, looking mildly spooked, "That thing weighs more than I do and it felt like a _feather_ …" He looked at his hands in absolute wonder and confusion, "Guys, I'm gettin' seriously weirded out right now…"

Nami sighed, " _Men…_ " Atlas turned to make a scathing retort and was met with a sensation that drove every last shred of sarcasm and caustic wit from his mind. Before he could properly kiss her back, Nami had withdrawn with a playful grin, "Why don't we speed up the tour a little bit? I seem to recall you saying that blue was your favorite color," she added with a wink. Atlas noted that Luffy and Zoro both got immediate nosebleeds and gathered his wits, "TO THE BEDROOM!"

Nami smirked, "That's more like it."

…

…

A Few Moments Later

…

…

Atlas had hung his coat and hat by the door and his shirt was unbuttoned all the way down as he reclined in one of the reclining cushions he had thrown together that afternoon. The officer's lounge was large enough to comfortably accommodate over a dozen people and completely covered in soft cushioned squares, none more than an inch or two thick to prevent the loss of valuables in the cracks, but all amply plush enough to lie, sit and lounge on comfortably.

The room was littered with cushions and pillows and even had a recessed section of floor with a table in the center. The table was the only part of the room that wasn't covered in cushions as Atlas had felt that might rather defeat the purpose of a solid surface for drinks. It was located in the center of almost a dozen other bedrooms in the stern of the ship, the two rooms closest to the large wrap around window that Atlas had made from a piece of a broken bottle were his and Luffy's, both sported outstanding views and the windows had all been reinforced with sea prism stone mesh that Atlas had managed to carve from the High Town safe they had stolen and subsequently shrunken down and brought with them. The rooms next to them were Zoro and Nami's, and the rooms beside those, furthest in, had yet to be assigned.

Luffy was bouncing with impatient excitement and Zoro was kicked back with his back against the wall, drinking. Atlas was trying to keep himself from getting overly excited like Luffy, who was currently trying to keep himself from bouncing across the room, tearing the door to Nami's room open and taking her ready or not.

Then Nami cracked the door open, "Hey Atlas, can you come here for a second?" Atlas almost teleported across the room to lay his ear to the door, "Yep?"

"How sturdy is that table?" Nami asked. "It's reinforced with steel, the wood finish is just for show," Atlas replied, "Why?"

Nami blushed slightly, "Do you think you could, um, make a pole? I tried something a year or two back and even though I didn't like it then, I think with you guys I might like to give it another shot." Atlas blushed as crimson as the blood leaking from his nose and then a grin spread across his face as he snapped his fingers, " _Done._ " The light from the lanterns suddenly dimmed to near darkness except for the one over the table as a metal pole erupted up out of it, "Hey guys pull up a seat at the table! Nami's puttin' on a show!"

Nami blushed even more and steeled her nerves, _It's okay, you can do this…_ And do she certainly did!

…

…

Four Hours Later

…

…

Atlas narrowly managed to not collapse on top of Nami as they drove each other to what would be the next to last peak of the night. Zoro and Luffy had already passed out after having lost count of how many times they'd all climaxed. Atlas had been using his powers the entire evening to keep a field open which shut down anything that could slow down his and his crewmates' sex drives, but after an hour he had allowed Luffy and Zoro to succumb to exhaustion so he could have a little one on one with the gorgeous thief. He refused point blank to let his hormones overwhelm him and put him to sleep after finishing as they normally would, not when Nami had picked out such alluring lingerie based on his preferences in color scheme.

Nami had wanted to surprise him, and she had succeeded. The black bra, panties and stockings with the royal blue trim she had picked out had contrasted perfectly with her soft, lightly tanned skin and sun kissed orange hair. Atlas had never realized just how intensely a woman's eyes could convey lust until Nami had locked eyes with him from up on the pole that now stood in the center of the room. If Atlas had ever had any doubts that Nami was a thief, they vanished when her smoldering amber gaze had effortlessly stolen his breath right from his lungs.

Now it was time for one final round and Atlas grinned as he panted huskily in Nami's ear, "Hey Nami, I wanna try something if you're ready for one last go." He didn't know how many times he'd made love to the gorgeous woman whose form was intertwined with his, and he really didn't care. All that mattered to him was how amazing it had been, how amazing she was, and how much more mind blowing he could make it if this next trick worked.

Nami smiled and rubbed against him, her now slightly swollen and very sensitive breasts pressing into her new lover's chest as she pulled him a little deeper with the long slender legs wrapped around his waist, "Another round? You insatiable perv…" she purred, "I'm game. What did you have in mind?"

The evening had been eye opening for Nami to say the least, especially in regards to Atlas's powers. She would never have guessed that he could use them to control the relaxation and sensitivity of muscles and tissues, _especially_ those particular muscles and tissues. It had made exploration of what all her body could handle and draw pleasure from considerably more enjoyable and easy.

Atlas lowered himself onto his elbows and slid his forearms under her shoulders to cup her face in his hands and gaze into her warm amber eyes, _Good god what a woman…_ He gently stroked her cheeks into a wider smile with his thumbs, "Just this…" He kissed her and activated his powers.

It was a good thing that no enemies chose that night to attack, because Atlas and Nami were both completely spent and out of commission after Atlas threw open the flood gates on the biggest orgasm either of them had ever had. Atlas only narrowly managed to roll so that Nami could rest on top rather than plopping his weight down on her before the weariness he'd been holding back with his powers finally overtook them both.

 ** _AN: So I can't really decide if I want to continue this story or not. There are plans in place for everything all the way to the end of Alabasta, but I'm not sure how much all of you my beloved readers like this story and Atlas. I don't want to spend a bunch of time on this if nobody's going to read it, so if you're interested in seeing more, please by all means let me know!_**


	8. Chapter 8: What?

**AN: Hey everybody, Ghost here. Thank you all for your support, this story will be continuing!**

 **And now something that I should probably do in more of my stories, answers to reviews!**

 **...**

 **Lazymanjones96:** **Thank you very much, I try hard and hope not to disappoint.**

 **Ascended** **Humanity: I'm glad you're enjoying, and thank you for pointing out that so many of these had gotten lost in posting. Atlas's powers DO allow him to manipulate time like that, but because he's aware of time travel theory and butterfly of doom effects, he's going to tread very VERY lightly around manipulating time. Also, he's going to find the Grand Line far too random and instantly dangerous to experiment with anything that could render even a single member of the crew unavailable for even a moment.**

 **Sanguinis13:** **Thank you very much, wish granted! ^.^**

 **VoyagersUnite: Hooray hooray! I hope you continue to enjoy!**

 **Guest with Voice of Darth Sidious: Done.**

 **...**

 **Thank you all again for your support, and remember that even if reviews aren't necessarily love, they are _definitely_ motivation! ^.^**

 **...**

Chapter 8 – What?

==The Next Morning==

Atlas woke as his lover stirred and kissed the hair of the beautiful woman in his arms, "Robin, that was amazing…"

Nami smiled at the compliment and then sat bolt upright as it registered in full, "WAIT A MINUTE! WHO'S ROBIN?!"

Atlas blinked in confusion, and upon realizing he had in fact called Nami the wrong name strained his mind with his brow furrowed in confusion, "You know something? I really don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?!" Nami demanded, then a look of realization crossed her face, "Wait a minute…Atlas, have you got amnesia?"

Atlas stared, "Um…I don't… _think_ so? Would I even know? I mean…" he froze, the hand raised to his forehead stilled in shock, "Nami…what is on my head?"

Nami's eyes widened, "Wait, you mean you _didn't know about the giant scar on your face?!_ "

"I HAVE A GIANT SCAR ON MY FACE?!"

…

…

A Few Moments Later

…

…

Atlas stood in the bathroom and stared into the mirror, the first one he'd seen since waking up in Shellstown a few days earlier. Nami hadn't been exaggerating, the scar _was_ huge. It covered the entirety of his right eye and stretched halfway across his forehead like an angry maroon swirl. It wasn't a little thin pale white scar either, it was a vicious angry red like a freshly blacked eye, but Atlas could tell from gently probing it with his fingers that it was _not_ a fresh wound. Whatever had happened to his eye had happened at least several months earlier, if not longer.

Possibly even more disturbing was the fact that he had a _beard_. "When the hell did I grow a beard?" he whispered in shock, "I've never had more than just a bit of fuzz, this looks like it took months to grow…and why is my hair so long? When's the last time I had a haircut?" _I knew I must've lost consciousness…but this is too much…and when did I get this muscular?_

He quickly pulled off the shirt he'd had open like a vest all night and his eyes widened even further before turning down to examine the masses of scars littering his body, "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME?!"

"Shit Atlas, what kind of monster did you get in a fight with?" Zoro asked from where he was leaned in the doorway. Atlas's head snapped around, "Monster?"

Zoro nodded, "Check out the marks, those weren't done by a sword or a knife, those are _claw marks_. Did you get in a fight with some kind of giant mountain cat?" He tilted his head as Atlas directed his gaze to the scars in question, "No, they're too close together for a particularly monstrous cat, but they're definitely claw marks, and some of these bigger ones were definitely made by a blade. It must've been more than one fight. Probably not the same one that gave you that giant scar on your eye either. Must've been some hellacious opponents to have survived your devil fruit powers."

Atlas shook his head, "No, I only ate the Open-open fruit the day I met you and Luffy. I had just finished choking it down a little before I ran into you…"

Zoro frowned, "So, how did you fight before?" Atlas shook his head, "I don't know." He raised a hand to the massive scar over his right eye with a grimace, "Apparently I didn't fight well enough."

Zoro snorted, "Didn't fight well enough? Just the fact that you apparently walked away from that fight is damned impressive! Fights like that, you don't walk away from them if you lost." Then he noticed something, "Hey Atlas, what's that sink made of?"

"Polished steel, why?"

Zoro inclined his head towards it, "Look at what you did to it." Atlas turned and looked at the steel sink and did what had drawn Zoro's attention again as his grip tightened on the edge of the sink in surprise. The steel bent beneath his fingers like wet clay. Atlas picked up his hand and stared at it in shock, "What the hell…?"

Zoro jerked his head, "Come on, I think it's time you and I spar. No swords and no devil fruit powers, just you, me and our fists." Atlas nodded, "Normally I'd call that madness, but now I think you just might be right."

…

…

A Few Minutes Later

…

…

Atlas and Zoro stood facing each other in the ring with Luffy acting as referee and Nami watching from the sidelines wrapped in Luffy's shirt and wearing Zoro's spare pants, "Ready?" Zoro and Atlas slid into fighting stances. "FIGHT!" Luffy declared as he swung his hand between the two.

Immediately Zoro struck like a snake, his fist lashing out with the force of a charging bull. _POW!_ "OOF!" **_WHAM!_**

All present stared as Zoro was suddenly lying flat on his back staring up at the ceiling, Atlas standing over him with his hands still frozen from where he'd executed the throw and just as stunned as his crewmates. It took Zoro a second to realize what had happened and then, "GAH MY NOSE!" Atlas stared at Zoro rolling around clutching his bleeding nose and then turned, trying to recall exactly what the hell had just happened.

Atlas walked through the motion slowly, "Straight punch and catch, loop into elbow to solar plexus and then catch shoulder and throw…I remember learning this fighting style back home, but when the hell did I get so _good_? I never fought like that before…How much of my memory did I lose?!"

Luffy frowned and pointed, "Why did your hand and arm turn black when you hit Zoro?" Atlas looked at him, "Huh?" Luffy's frown deepened, "Right before you hit him, your right arm turned black from the elbow down. It was only for the instant you struck and then you moved to throw him and it went away."

Atlas looked at his hand, his brow furrowed in deep thought, "Really? Weird." He pulled a nail from his pocket and turned it into an iron plate before handing it to Luffy, "Hold this, I'm gonna punch it." Luffy had barely gotten it into position before Atlas's fist slammed into it hard enough to almost knock it from Luffy's grip and leave a perfect indentation of Atlas's fist in it. Atlas took the iron plate back and stared at a web of tiny ridges in the crater his fist had left, "Hoooly shit, I can see the lines in my skin…"

Nami plucked the iron from his hands and examined it with wide eyes. She was silent for a moment and then, "Um, guys…if it's not too much trouble…I've got one more favor to ask…"

A few minutes later the entire island jumped half out of their skins as the three Strawhats roared with enough force to shake the ship and send every animal within a three kilometer radius scampering for cover, " ** _WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"_**

…

…

Three Minutes Later

…

…

The only warning Arlong got of the impending assault was a sound of three sets of feet landing. As he turned to look, Luffy's fist connected with his eye, Zoro's swords sliced into his torso and neck, and Atlas appeared behind him with a handful of Arlong's freshly removed spine and his other hand drawing his pistol. In an instant, Arlong was a bad memory, and his crew realized that they were doomed.

A split second after the shock of seeing Arlong effortlessly assassinated registered, half the fishmen dropped as Atlas fired. The single bullet flew through dozens of portals in the space of an instant, pulping the brains of every fishman Atlas had targeted. "NONE OF YOU ARE LEAVING HERE ALIVE!" Atlas declared as he clapped his hands together and opened a field around Arlong Park where fishmen would disintegrate instantly.

Luffy and Zoro didn't bother with words, instead opting for wordless roars of pure outrage as they tore into their foes.

In another world, Zoro might have been wounded for this fight and had a hard time. He and Luffy might not have had a third monster to assist them, or perhaps they might have each tried to challenge the fishmen one on one. Now though, they were a perfectly oiled and calibrated machine, obliterating every fishman that stood before them, and those that tried to flee were annihilated upon contact with Atlas's death zone surrounding the enclosure. Any who tried to attack Atlas to get rid of the field entrapping them ran into the maelstrom of carnage that was Luffy and Zoro. The only one to get past them was Kuroobi, and he had to be thrown by Hatchan. The three officers thought that perhaps Kuroobi would prove a sufficient distraction for one of Choo's water shots to kill the devil fruit user that had trapped them with the monsters mowing down their crew.

They were wrong. Atlas hardly even blinked as his powers snatched Kuroobi from the air to force him to act as a meat shield against Choo's attack. Before Kuroobi could recover from his disorientation at suddenly being in the wrong place at the wrong time and facing the wrong direction, Choo's water shot slammed into his solar plexus like a sledgehammer. Before he could understand what happened, Atlas had rent him to shreds with his powers, laying open his innards and blood vessels like split garden hoses. Choo tried to shoot him again only to find his water shot slamming into his head sideways. Choo struggled to shake off the effects of the point blank attack and then felt searing pain in his stomach as Zoro finally reached him. That was quite quickly the end of Choo.

Hatchan would've helped, but Luffy chose that exact moment to send Hatchan flying up over the top of the death wall Atlas had set up around Arlong Park and right back out to sea where he belonged. It really was a lucky shot…for Hatchan anyway. It was all that saved him from dying that day, because while Luffy wasn't killing anyone, _Atlas_ was going along behind him, splitting skulls open with his powers and making sure that those laid low by his captain would never rise again.

In less than five minutes, the Arlong Pirates (barring Hatchan) were all dead.

==Four Minutes Later==

Hatchan crashed into the ground in the middle of Cocoyashi Village and tried to pull himself back to his feet, already feeling the bruises forming around where he was certain he'd be seeing handprints later. He pushed himself upright and laid two of his six hands over the pulverized section of his midriff where he'd been hit. He drug himself to his feet and fell back to his knees, groaning in pain and then vomiting blood utterly heedless of the villagers around him staring in shock.

Genzo walked over quickly from where he had been resting beneath the umbrella outside his office, quickly waving for everyone to stay back while he saw what had happened. Genzo knelt next to Hatchan, "Hatchan! What happened? Are you alright? You're vomiting blood."

" _Monsters!"_ Hatchan exclaimed, "One minute we were all just relaxing and the next Arlong's body was hitting the floor and we were dying left and right! There was some kind of wall around Arlong Park, everyone who touched it just exploded! It's horrible! You have to help us!"

Genzo's eyes weren't the only ones wide, "Arlong's dead? Your crew have all been killed?!" Before Hatchan could answer a figure in a dark long coat covered in blood and a wide brimmed hat landed on him from above, slamming him to the ground and laying a pistol to the octopus man's head as a cloud passed over the sun and plunged the entire village into shadow.

"I rather thought I saw Luffy send one of you glorified plankton flying," Atlas growled as he made certain Hatchan could feel the gun barrel pressed to the base of his spine. Genzo and the rest of Cocoyashi stared and then Atlas looked over his shoulder. Genzo would swear until the day he died that Atlas's eyes had been glowing red through a mask of pure darkness as he rumbled, "Nami…"

Genzo's head snapped up and around to see a very stunned looking Nami stepping through a hole in the air, "Nami?! What are you, _HOW_ are you here?!"

"More importantly," Atlas interjected dryly, "Luffy saw fit to sling this particular fish flying. You tell me," he cocked the gun and Hatchan whimpered, "Do I let the hammer fall?"

Nami stepped walked over, seemingly in a trance and then crouched down, "Hatchi?" "Naaamiii…" Hatchan blubbered, "Please…I'm sorry…" **_BANG!_**

Nami, Hatchan, Genzo, everyone watching jumped half out of their skins as Atlas pulled the trigger.

…

…

…

"Good enough for me," Atlas declared as he rose and holstered his pistol, suddenly appearing to be nothing more than a scruffy pirate with a scar. Hatchan quivered, his eyes wider than dinner plates and his entire body paler than his hair as he stared at the smoking gun hole right in front of his face. He was quite certain he'd just lost a few years off his life from pure _terror_.

"Nami addressed you as a friend," Atlas declared as he stepped off Hatchan's back, "And you showed genuine remorse for your crimes against her. So, I'm going to let you live. _However,_ " he added, his aura of menace returning to kickstart Hatchan's heart and send it into overdrive, "You should keep in mind that terror you felt just now. You just came _very_ close to your final judgement. You looked afraid. If I were you, I'd start working on making sure that judgement is a positive one."

"W-what are you saying?" Hatchan stammered. "Live a good life from here on," Atlas replied solemnly as he hefted Hatchan back to his feet by the collar, "Help those you can, when and wherever you can. Try to do something good for someone else every chance you get. Know where to draw the line, but you've got some atoning to do unless you want to see me again. Rest assured, if you go to Hell when you die, _I'll be waiting for you_. Until then…"

Atlas extended a hand to shake and suddenly the mask of lethally solemn judgement turned into a sunny smile. The sudden transformation was almost more terrifying than what Hatchan had just been through as Atlas beamed at him, "Nice to meet you, Hatchi was it? You go on home and have a nice evening. Oh, and say thank you to Nami," Atlas's eyes suddenly revealed the brutal killer behind the smile as he added, "she just saved your life."

Then Atlas disappeared just as suddenly as he had appeared, leaving a crowd of stunned villagers, plus a thief and a fish, in his wake.

…

…

Atlas reappeared and stared at his hands, "Who…who the hell am I?" The air of menace, the fighting…it was all _way_ beyond anything he'd ever been capable of, but it all came so easily...like he'd had years of experience doing it. It was almost like, "Have I died and gone to some sort of Heaven where I'm my ideal self?" he muttered as he ran his hands through his hair and especially over the mysterious spiral scar.

Atlas rested his head in a hand covering his scarred eye, "What the hell happened to me? I knew what a Devil Fruit was and how they worked, and I'm so much stronger…I must've been here for a while…" He frowned, "I said I was a construction worker…and I know I was, just the knowledge in my head is proof of that…but when did it happen? How long? How did I wind up in construction?" He sat back and looked up at the sky, "Just how many years' worth of my memories have I lost? There's no way I dropped out, so at least four…and how damn old am I? That would explain a lot since there's no way in hell this beard and hair grew in less than a year."

He ran a hand back through the brushed back locks of thick dark red hair, "Haven't had a haircut in…" he plucked a hair out, "At least a year…I guess Robin likes it…whoever she is…"

Then Atlas nearly leapt clear out of his skin as a woman yelled, "Hey! What are you doing on top of my house?! Get down from there!"

Atlas looked down and blinked before his eyes slowly morphed into hearts as he took in the beautiful young woman glaring up at him. She wasn't overly tall, and her skin was tanned from working outside a lot. _No doubt tending this orchard,_ Atlas thought as he took in the slightly calloused hands and hair cut relatively short and pulled back. The eyes were a pretty blue, just like the hair which Atlas found slightly odd but also surprisingly attractive, and the glaring pout and curves reminded him irresistibly of… _Oh._

Atlas grinned, "Oh hey! You're not Nami's sister are you?" The young woman started visibly, "You know my sister?!" Atlas grinned, "Yeah, I was her ride home! I guess I beat her here, she's probably in town celebrating!"

The blue haired woman frowned, "Celebrating? Celebrating what?"

"NOJIKOOO!" Nami's voice suddenly rang out as she came running up. Nojiko turned in surprise, "Nami?!"

Nami skidded to a halt breathing heavily, "Arlong…dead…my friends…killed him!" Nojiko stared in shock for a second and then jerked a thumb over her shoulder, "You mean that guy on the roof?!"

Nami's head snapped up, right after Atlas pulled Luffy and Zoro through a portal. Luffy and Zoro had had just enough time to get comfortable and make it look like they'd been there a while, so when Nojiko's head whipped around at Nami's plural greeting, the bluenette's expression was _priceless._ Nojiko pointed at them in shock, " _Where did you two come from?!_ "

Luffy laughed, "Shishishishi…a hole in the sky." "You think he's joking," Zoro added, "But he's not." Zoro managed to keep his poker face on pretty well, only the very faintest upturn at the corners of his mouth betraying his amusement at Nojiko's bewilderment.

Nojiko turned to Nami, her finger still trained on the three pirates on her roof, "These are the three that killed Arlong?" Nami nodded, "Yeah, I told them about everything and they came right away. They _massacred_ Arlong and his entire crew. Arlong Park's got more blood in it than money! Hatchan was the only one that got away, and that's only because Atlas let him go."

"I only did it because you said he was okay," Atlas interjected, "I was totally ready to blow squid boy's brains out." "He's an _octopus_ ," Nami replied in annoyance, "And he was actually the only one of Arlong's crew that was ever actually nice, so don't bad mouth him." Atlas rocked slightly from side to side and _hmm_ ed and grumbled a little bit, but Nami could tell he'd listen.

Nojiko turned back to Nami, " _These three_ killed Arlong and his entire crew?" The three Strawhats glowered and Atlas snapped his fingers. A hole suddenly opened in the air and dropped the corpses of Arlong's entire crew in front of Nojiko with Arlong's headless body landing sprawled on top and his head bouncing down to land at Nojiko's feet.

Nojiko and Nami both leapt back and Luffy said quietly, "Yeah, we did, and you know what?" He raised his head to meet Nojiko and Nami's stunned gazes, "I don't regret it for a second. Anyone who hurts my friends is going to get pulverized, and what he did to you was unforgivable Nami."

Atlas and Zoro swapped a glance, "Did Luffy just use a word with four syllables?" "Forget that, he used a word with _five_ syllables," Zoro replied in feigned awe with a comically stunned expression. Luffy pouted at them as they burst out laughing and Nami started sniggering. Nojiko would've giggled, but she was still a little busy staring at the mountain of dead fish.


	9. Chapter 9: Dreams and Memories

**AN: And here we have Chapter 9, but first, a big thank you to my reviewers!**

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 **Voyagers Unite: I am delighted that you are still enjoying**

 **Ascended Humanity: Heaps of big thanks once again my friend for all your help.**

...

 **Without further ado let's get rockin'!**

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Chapter 9 – Dreams and Memories

…

A Little While Later

…

As Nojiko cooked, she thought about the three pirates in her living/dining room, and the effect they were having on her beloved little sister.

The first was the one in the Strawhat, the one Nami called Luffy who she seemed the most comfortable with. _Not that she's anything BUT comfortable with any of them,_ Nojiko mused, _I haven't seen her this friendly with anyone since before Arlong showed up, and they're SO obviously a couple they might as well paint it on their shirts._ Nami was currently in Luffy's lap laughing as the oldest of the three racked his clearly frustrated brains. From what Nojiko had seen of Luffy, she could only describe him as a ball of sunshine.

 _A scary strong ball of sunshine if he really killed Arlong,_ Nojiko mused to herself as she glanced over her shoulder at the happy smile, the thin but strong arms wrapped around Nami like she was the most precious thing in the world, _but he's got such a positive effect on her…he'd make a really good boyfriend for Nami if he wasn't a pirate. I'm still not too sure how I feel about that._

She raked the grated tangerine peels off into the pan and turned her attention to the second member of the group, _And that one's a good boyfriend for Nojiko even if he is. NO. No, bad Nojiko, bad. No getting moony eyed over the super ripped, handsome swordsman who looks like he could pick me up with one hand and throw me in the NO. STOP THAT. Can't let Nami see me having perverted thoughts about her friend. On to the next one! Tall, dark and really really scary!_

A slight shiver ran down Nojiko's spine at the thought of the third man in her house, _God what a buzzkill…I wouldn't believe Luffy and Zoro were pirates if they didn't have HIM with them. What the hell gave him a scar like that?_ Atlas did indeed have a fearsome visage she decided as she shot a glance over her shoulder at him, his face all weathered and wreathed in that dark hair that looked almost like it was stained the color of dried blood. The fact that she was pretty sure she could see _actual blood_ liberally _caked_ onto his sleeves and splattered all over his dark red coat told her that even though he was taking the others' ribbing and teasing in stride, he was _definitely_ dangerous. _A lot more of a killer than either of the other two I bet,_ she mused, _He's also the only one carrying a pistol, and he looks like he'd use it in a heartbeat if anyone pissed him off._

She jumped slightly as Atlas suddenly banged his head on the table, "GAAAH WHY ISN'T IT WORKING?!"

Nojiko turned, "Why isn't what working?"

"I'm trying to use my powers to get my memories back," Atlas explained, "but it's not working! And it's really driving me nuts because I don't know _why_ it's not working! If I knew why it wasn't working then maybe I could _fix it_ and get them back! I wanna know who I am dang it!"

Nojiko blinked, "You've got amnesia? That must be awful. I can't even imagine what that must be like, not knowing who you are."

"Trust me, it sucks," Atlas grumbled, "Why can't these powers come with an instruction manual? A how-to booklet? A pamphlet? _Something_. These things reincarnate, who used this damn fruit last and how? I have all my knowledge, or at least I think I do, and I know things about myself, but I can't put any of it together into a cohesive picture of who I'm supposed to be!"

"So maybe it's not like opening a vault in your mind," Nojiko mused as she thought about the implications of what Atlas had declared to be the powers of the Open-open fruit, "If all the knowledge is already there where you can access it, just floating around barely outside your reach, then it makes sense that you wouldn't be able to get it back with your powers, because it's not gone or locked up."

Atlas mused over that for a moment and then his head snapped up and he looked at Luffy and Zoro, "WAIT A MINUTE. I woke up the day I met you two in a huge pile of rubble! That means my memory loss is post traumatic anterograde and what the ungodly fucking psychological neuro-scientific jargon did I just _spout_ AND WHY DO I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT MEANS, _MOVING ON!_ " He declared with a sweep of his hand as if to brush it off the table.

Luffy, Zoro and Nami were staring in polite incredulity at the highly uncharacteristic tirade and Nojiko was pointedly trying not to draw attention to herself. Atlas extended his hands with a manic grin, "When Buggy blew up Luffy and Nami and I healed Nami I took all the damage onto myself to heal Nami right? And she healed almost immediately, right?"

Luffy Zoro and Nami nodded as Nojiko's head whipped around at the question. "But when I transferred them to that unicycle guy," Atlas continued, "I didn't think 'transfer the burns', I transferred _all_ the damage to my body! What if I gave _him_ part of my amnesia and that's why I can remember my childhood now?! I still have all my procedural and semantic knowledge I just don't have any episodic memory after my late teens, which I _didn't_ have before we took down Cabaji. It didn't even occur to me at the time because I wasn't thinking about it, but now that I think about it I wasn't _trying_ to remember any personal information until after the bank heist! So what if I can get the rest of my memories back by transferring the amnesia to some random jackass? If it's just frontal lobe damage and I can transfer it then all I need is…"

There was a knock at the door and Atlas's face froze before twisting into an utterly _evil_ grin, " _A random schmuck to be my lab rat._ "

…

…

Ten Minutes Later

…

…

Atlas grinned and adjusted his hat as he watched the terrified Marines that had been under the command of the freshly deceased Captain Nezumi beat the hastiest retreat of their lives. Then he turned back around with a devious grin, "Guess who remembers everythiiing?"

"Uuunfortunately," he added as he cleared his throat, "I'm also kinda honor bound to keep my mouth shut about the specifics of who I work for, and that's about two thirds or so of the twenty years that I had forgotten, including all the most recent ones and everything leading up to our meeting." He scratched his head and looked down and sideways, "I should probably call and let them know that it'll be a while before I can get back. There's no way my powers will let me jump halfway across the world like that. Anyone got a snail?"

Nojiko shook her head, "No, Arlong made sure that the only ones anywhere nearby were at the Marine Ba-you can _not_ be serious."

Atlas looked over his shoulder as he turned to head out the doorway, "Can and am. All of you stay here and have a good night, I'll be back in the morning. I'm not somebody who can just up and disappear like this for long periods of time without giving the chief notice. Even worse, they probably think I'm dead, can't have that. My friends back home are probably freaking out."

He started to walk out the door and then paused, "By the way Luffy, you might be ready for the Grand Line, but you're still a shrimp compared to some of the monsters that hunt out there. Don't worry," he grinned, "I'll get you all up to speed." Then he was gone.

…

…

Half An Hour Later

…

…

Nojiko stuck a finger in the sauce she had been cooking to taste test it and her hair immediately stood on end as her eyes went wide and blank in disgust. She grabbed a spoon angrily, "What the fuck?!" She scooped out a dollop of the sauce and after giving it a wary look stuck it in her mouth before nearly vomiting from how horrifically bad it tasted.

She had to hold onto the counter and scrunch her eyes shut as she realized the taste was so horrible that it was somehow making her eyes burn. Nami leapt up, "Nojiko!"

Nojiko forced one eye open to shoot a glare at the pan while Nami rubbed her back and panicked a little. "Really…bad…batch…" Nojiko ground out. Nami stuck her finger in the sauce and then in her mouth exactly the way Nojiko had. She then had the exact same reaction Nojiko had, but since she'd only taken a fingerful instead of an entire spoonful, she was able to snatch the pan and shove it into the sink to begin washing out the horrid slime.

"I'll start a fresh batch sis," Nami declared after drinking some water to try and get the taste out of her mouth, "You sit down and drink something stronger than water, you're going to need something powerful to get that taste out of your mouth."

Nojiko reached under the sink and pulled out a bottle that Nami gawked at before yanking the cork out and draining half of it in a single go. Nojiko took the bottle away from her lips and then shuddered, "Guoood I hate dry wines! At least it killed that awful taste…"

Zoro raised a hand, "I'll take it! I like dries!" Nojiko tossed it to him and he effortlessly snagged it out of the air. Zoro turned it to check the label and raised an eyebrow, "Wow. This is some potent stuff, and really _good_ wine. How'd you get this?"

Nojiko grimaced as she searched for a different bottle, unwittingly giving Zoro and Luffy a perfect view of her very shapely posterior, "The fishmen hated dry wines almost as much as I do, and Nami drinks like a fish, so I got them to let me keep them for her. Ah here we are!" She declared with a smile as she extracted a bottle from the back, "My favorite!"

She grinned as she made her way over to the table, "They goofed on one crate from a ship they looted, they didn't bother to check inside the boxes, they only checked the labels. I got an entire crate of this champagne, and I've been saving this bottle for, god it must be two or three years now…just waiting for an occasion to celebrate. And _now_ …" she declared as she pulled the cork out, "I _finally_ have a damn good reason!" She flopped down in the chair next to Zoro and offered the neck of the bottle to him for a toast with a sly grin as the wine started to hit her and landed a straight knock out punch to the voice in her head named 'Restraint', "Drink up handsome, it's a party!"

Zoro blinked, clinked, and drinked with a grin as Luffy immediately went to the liquor cabinet to find a bottle of booze for himself.

…

…

Two Hours Later, Marine Base E-16

"What _exactly_ **possessed you** to tell them we were _pirates?!_ " Raven spat at her cellmate. Raven wasn't a tall girl, in fact she was the shortest person in the cell. That didn't change the fact that she was absolutely the scariest of the four young inmates.

Two of the four were trying to make themselves small and unobtrusive to avoid her attention while the third was calmly meeting her gaze, "It's the truth." He crossed his arms and did his level best to make his visage into a perfect stone wall of unflappability.

Raven was on the verge of tearing either her hair or her unflappable associate's (he was _not_ her friend, especially not right now!) throat out with frustration. "THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD JUST UP AND TELL THE SQUAD OF LAW ENFORCEMENT WITH GUNS THAT!"

"They asked, and they would've likely taken us into custody anyway," Ivan reasoned, "After all, how would you react if someone washed up in _your_ bay fussing, cussing and raising a ruckus while howling about hating the "goddamned Marines"? It was at the very least suspicious." Raven opened her mouth and then closed it back as she realized he had a point.

Then Ivan cut his gaze sideways, "Besides, I have a feeling we won't be in here for long. That's not a friendly headed this way."

Raven took a moment to register that and then narrowed her eyes and yanked him down to eye level as she got right in his face and blasted him with the full force of the telepathic power she had discovered upon waking up on the little boat in the middle of the ocean a few days earlier, "You. Son. Of. A. _BITCH._ There's help coming and you didn't say anything?! I've been in here _freaking out_ AND YOU'VE BEEN SITTING ON THIS?!"

Ivan smiled mockingly, "Sorry, you're cute when you're angry." He then stuck his tongue out and licked her nose. Raven reared back, attempted to slap him and burst out into a torrent of furious swearing as she immediately began rubbing at her nose with her sleeve. Ivan simply swayed back out of the way of her slap and began howling with laughter.

The other two young men in the room watched their two friends with a mixture of trepidation and embarrassment. Donny looked over at Albert, "Do you think we should point out that you could have busted us out of here in an instant with that explody thing your hands do now?" "And miss this, or even worse get her angry at _us?_ " Albert replied, " _Hell_ no." There was a pause and then, "When do you reckon those two are gonna get a room?"

Before Donny could reply, the entire base shook and a truly _monstrous_ roar shook it as a force like what Raven had discovered the ability to project at will burned through the stone overhead. It was like a wave of pure fear, washing over them with more ferocity than Raven could ever have dreamed of as it seared into the minds of the four young castaways. The force promised three things to all within its range: Pain, death, and that the _demon_ , for they could term the source of such power nothing else, would _enjoy_ dealing them their deaths. Raven and Ivan paled as Albert and Donny nearly soiled themselves. "This was the frying pan…" Ivan whispered in horror. "And that's the fire..." Raven finished.

"LET US OUT OF HERE!" Donny and Albert howled in unison as they began to whale on the walls, Albert's hands exploding as he furiously slapped the stone and clawed away the rubble it was quickly becoming and Donny's coating themselves black to let him hit like a sledgehammer and beat the stone to powder.

A week ago, none of the four would've believed what they were now capable of. Now though, they didn't even question it. There was no room in their minds for questioning, only the desperate need to escape the cackling reaper racing through the fort above.

…

…

Thirty Minutes Later, Undisclosed Location

…

…

"Badipadipadip, badipadipadip," the Transponder Snail rang. The call was answered quickly, "Go ahead."

"Kick this up the line as high as it'll go," the voice replied on the other end of the snail, "Half a dozen bears went to sleep beneath the rising sun. When winter was over and the hot day had passed, the half dozen returned." _Ka-lick!_

The CP2 agent assigned to monitoring calls in and out of the East Blue Marine Bases stared at the Transponder Snail as he quickly decoded the message in his head. Then he almost fell out of his chair, _"_ _Hoooly_ shit he's still alive…"

…

…

Meanwhlie

…

…

Zoro and Nami found themselves in a very awkward situation as they had the same realization at the same time. They were both still sober. Luffy and Nojiko on the other hand were both _very_ drunk, and they were both very _playful_ drunks.

"Why do I feel like my big sis is about to steal my man?" Nami asked as Luffy and Nojiko started a giggly tickle fight with each other. The two had been getting gradually chummier all evening, and if Nami had realized how drunk the two were getting, she would never have allowed Nojiko to suggest strip poker. Now Luffy was down to his hat and pants, Zoro was down to his boxers, Nami had started counting cards the instant Luffy had won the fifth hand in a row and cost everyone their shirts with what seemed to be near _zero_ understanding of the game, so she hadn't lost anything but her shoes, socks and shirt. Nojiko was down to her panties, hair ribbon and a drunken grin.

Zoro raised an eyebrow as the big squirming tangle of arms and laughter rolling around on the floor that was Nojiko and Luffy was suddenly stilled by Luffy giving into his instincts and kissing the drunken bluenette. "Maybe because she is?" Zoro replied dryly. Nojiko rolled Luffy over and the make-out session started to heat up, "Do you think we should step outside?"

Nami covered her eyes, "Zoro, would you please pick them up and put them in the bed in there?" She pointed to the bedroom without uncovering her eyes, "I can't stop them but that doesn't mean I really want to watch."

Zoro eyeballed the writhing captain and tangerine farmer, "Mmm…" _Scoop._ Before anyone could react, Zoro had swept up the drunken lovers and tossed them into the bed before jumping to the door and spinning it closed as Luffy and Nojiko squawked in surprise and mild indignation. Zoro breathed a sigh of relief, "That could've gone really _really_ badly."

He walked back over to the table and sat down across from Nami before taking a drink. Silence reigned for several minutes and then…

"Never have I ever…" Zoro thought for a moment, "…allowed myself to get lost in alcohol."

Nami raised an eyebrow, "Really? A drinking game?" Then she shrugged, "Eh, whatever. Good ice breaker." She drank and then set her glass down and looked at the picture on the nightstand, "I told you about what happened to my mother, I think that's enough reason for anyone to want to forget… just for a little while."

Zoro nodded and Nami thought for a moment, "Never have I ever killed anyone." Zoro took an extremely long drink, "Bounty hunter. Came with the territory. I try not to kill more often than I have to, but if I have to, I don't let it bother me." Nami mulled that over for a moment and then Zoro added, "And anyone or anything that messes with my friends is toast, situation doesn't matter." Nami was quiet for a moment and then Zoro stated, "Never have I ever given up on my dream."

Nami flinched and then raised a trembling glass to her lips. Before she even finished drinking Zoro had reached across the table to lay his massive hand over hers, "Hey, I'm sorry. I thought that would be a freebie."

Nami shook her head and tears welled in her eyes, "No. When I was a little girl I wanted to draw a map of the whole world. And then Arlong…" her voice broke, "He took my dream and…and all the skills I had worked, worked so hard to develop in pursuit of it…" A sob racked her body, "He made me draw maps for his stupid empire…He used _my dream_ to hurt people!" Again, she didn't realize Zoro was moving until he was picking her up and walking with her towards the door. "What, what are you doing? Put me down…" she sniffled half heartedly through the tears flooding her eyes.

Zoro didn't reply, he just walked on with Nami in his arms until he came to a cliff overlooking the sea. He sat down, never letting go of Nami as he ordered her gently, "Look."

Nami turned and her eyes widened slightly, "A meteor shower?" "Make a wish," Zoro said quietly, "With that many shooting stars it's bound to come true." Nami felt the hot tears start pouring even as she smiled, "What a beautiful world…"

"It's all out there waiting for you Nami," Zoro said quietly, "Come out to sea with us, we'll take you to see all of it. Nights like this, they're meant for making wishes because they're the ones that touch your heart, no matter how hard you try to lock it down. I made a vow to the girl I loved on a night like this to fulfill the dream we shared, and even if it kills me I'll keep that oath. What about you Nami? You're free now, don't you want to take your dream back and make it your own again?"

Nami was quiet for a little while as Zoro's words sank in, then she smiled and said softly, "Thank you Zoro." She kissed him on the cheek, "I never would've guessed _you_ had a sweet side." Before Zoro could blush or protest in embarrassment, Nami laid her head on his bare chest and began to snore. Zoro smiled slightly and laid his head back before taking a slow breath and letting sleep claim him.


	10. Chapter 10: Monsters, Curses and Devilry

**AN: As always, we'll start with replies to the commenters:**

 **...**

 **Guest: Fret not, a loss of Strawhat screen time to my OC's is not in the plans at all. You'll see what I mean in this chapter.**

 **(Update: To anyone who shares this particularly rude guest's opinion on the four castaways, read all the way through the section with them at the start of this chapter because this is probably the last time we'll be seeing them for a while and they DO actually serve a very important purpose in this story.)**

 **...**

 **(scratches head) other than the fact that I really and truly hate spam bots posting stuff in my comments section that I can't delete, that's about all I've got for this opening note...**

 **So without further ado, let's get rockin'!**

Chapter 10

…

The Next Morning, Outskirts of the Conomi Islands

…

Ivan sat on a rock, still pale and breathing hard. He and his three friends hadn't stopped running all night after Donny and Albert had finally managed to break out through the thick walls of the Marine Base's brig. That had taken way too long though. Ivan had heard everything. He didn't know how his senses had been so enhanced that he could tell what blood splattering and bodies hitting the floor sounded like through stone walls, but he knew that it was a sound that he would never forget.

The only thing that had been more terrifying, was the emotions. He could hear the fear in their voices, the desperation and panic and pain in their final breaths, and worst of all the excitement in their killer. That was the most terrifying bit of all. The killer had been having the time of his life, a starving lion unleashed into a pen full of sheep.

Ivan wasn't sure how he knew, maybe it was the force of the man's footfalls, but he was certain that the man hadn't been large, not much bigger than Raven if he had to guess. He had been fast though, so very fast that often his footsteps sounded like machine gun fire. The sounds of his fists slamming men bigger than him aside like ragdolls, the thuds and thumps they made as they landed after he sent them flying, and the horrible crunching and cracking of bones shattering upon impact echoed in Ivan's ears, warning him of the terrible strength the monster had possessed.

Even worse though, was the conclusion that was now forming in his head, "He was like us…" Ivan said quietly.

The others heads snapped up. "What?" Raven asked flatly in a tone that clearly declared her too tired for Ivan's teasing.

Ivan took a deep breath, "The guy that attacked that fort last night. He was like us. Not so much Albert, but you Raven, and me, and Donny. Our powers, he had _all of them,_ and he knew what he was doing with them. You all felt his aura, that was just like yours Raven except a thousand times stronger. I could hear it in the way he moved, he could see and hear like I do. Those guys never stood a chance, even their bullets couldn't hit him."

"You're telling me he can dodge bullets?" Raven demanded in disbelief. "I heard twenty four guns fire at him simultaneously, at a distance of what couldn't have been more than ten meters," Ivan declared quietly, "The next thing I heard was the guys holding them getting beaten to pulp." He swallowed slightly, " _Literally_. _Pulp._ He's strong, stronger than Donny. I could hear him punching guys that had to be _way_ bigger than him with enough force to shatter every bone around where he hit, crush everything inside to pulp and send them flying like cannonballs."

"He sounds pretty strong," a voice declared before adding in a teasing tone, "Maybe I should go recruit him instead?" The four castaways whirled and saw a young woman sitting in the branches of a nearby tree smirking down at them. She had blonde hair, captivatingly golden eyes and the most mischievously playful smirk any of them had ever seen. _She's also insanely gorgeous, with a sexy voice at that,_ Ivan thought to himself, _but more importantly,_ _ **how in the hell did she sneak up on me?!**_

"I'm Sherry," she declared, "You're joining my crew, so you can call me Captain if you want, but I don't mind if you want to call me Sherry. The big guy behind you is my grandpa and first mate." "Call me 'Sensei' and I might teach you how to use those powers of yours," the massive old man with the beard declared from right next to Ivan. The four castaways jumped near clean from their skins and then Raven frowned.

Raven's aura suddenly manifested around her as she shot a challenging glare at Sherry, causing Donny and Albert to back up and Ivan to break out in a thin sheen of cold sweat, "And what if we refuse?"

Sherry's smirk grew into a beautiful sunny smile so big that her eyes were almost closed. The effect was such that Donny and Albert decided immediately that even if Ivan and Raven didn't join her, they would without hesitation. Ivan's breath jumped straight out of him to make googly heart eyes at the angel before him, but his poker face was well enough ingrained that it didn't show beyond a slight widening of his eyes. Raven was caught so off guard that her aura dissipated instantly.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sherry asked as she stood up on the branch, a hand casually going to the hilt of the katana Ivan now noticed at her side.

Then Sherry's eyes snapped open, blazing like miniature suns and an aura every bit as terrible as what they had felt the night before slammed into them like a cart load of bricks, only this time without the stone walls to muffle it. Donny and Albert only narrowly managed to keep from fainting in pure terror, Ivan's breath did _not_ jump back in, opting instead to flee as fast as it could, and Raven became very VERY aware of just how incredibly weak her ability was in comparison.

The night before they had thought for sure the demon invading the fort was death itself. Now they knew for sure. What was before them was no lowly angel, but an earthbound **goddess** whose wishes were no mere desires but inevitable realities. Sherry started to glow like a roaring bonfire as she declared in a tone like a tidal wave of molten iron, " _I'll refuse your refusal and you_ _ **WILL**_ _join my crew_."

…

…

Meanwhile, Nojiko's House

…

…

Nojiko woke up with her mind in a slight fog. Then she realized where she was, bare naked in someone's arms, and sat bolt upright. She was immediately wide awake and immediately aware as _something_ shifted inside her, sending a wave of pleasure racing through her that immediately triggered a surge of guilt with the memories of what had happened the night before.

"Oh man, Nami's gonna _kill me!"_ She groaned as she saw Luffy peering groggily up at her. She shifted slightly and looked at the door nervously and tried to ignore how good it felt just to move. Luffy on the other hand had no such qualms as his mind raced to register what was going on, and his blood immediately started rushing to where his body met hers, eager to resume the previous nights activities. Nojiko noticed immediately as she felt the foreign mass between her legs begin to grow inside her and snapped her gaze down to meet Luffy's, " _Quit it."_

Luffy blinked in confusion that killed the growing boner he was getting, "Why? Didn't you have fun?" Nojiko blushed as crimson as her hair was blue, "It's not that! Aren't you and Nami dating?!"

Luffy blinked, "Oh, you mean what we did last night? Yeah we've done that before. What's that got to do with anything?" Then realization dawned on him, "Wait, is this about that moms and dads thing?"

Nojiko went ghostly pale as she tried to remember if it had been a safe night, "Y-yeah, that's part of it…" She quickly counted in her head and missed what Luffy was saying as she breathed a sigh of relief, "We should be okay on that front though." Then she frowned, "But it still wasn't right! If you and Nami have done _that_ then I _definitely_ shouldn't have done it with you!" She ran the fingers of one hand through her hair, "Crap, I was gonna jump that cutie with the swords…"

Luffy frowned, "Buuut, if you're not supposed to do it with me because Nami has, then shouldn't you not do it with Zoro or Atlas either?" Nojiko frowned, "What? What do they have to do with Nami?" "Well she's done it with all three of us," Luffy declared with all the subtlety of a rhino, "She seemed to really like it when it was all three of us."

Nojiko went very still and very quiet as Luffy's words sank in. Then she turned absolutely crimson, " ** _GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!_** " she shrieked.

…

…

Not Far Away

…

…

Zoro and Nami jumped as they heard Nojiko shriek and immediately dropped the groceries they'd been carrying and raced towards the house. They arrived just in time to see Luffy come skidding out the front door on his face with his clothes and hat being thrown out after him before an irate Nojiko slammed the door so hard the house shook.

Zoro and Nami sighed in unison, _that idiot…_ "So what do you think he did to piss her off?" Zoro asked as he and Nami waited for the confused captain to get the dirt out of his mouth.

Nami sighed, "Knowing him, probably the most bone headedly, stupid, honest…" She froze, _Oh crap…_ "Luffy, what did you say to Nojiko that made her throw you out?"

Luffy sat up and set his hat back on his head, "I don't know! All I did was ask her if you having done that sex thing with Zoro and Atlas meant she shouldn't! She thought you would be super angry with her because she did it with me after you did, but she wanted to do it with Zoro and it didn't make sense so I was asking!"

Nami felt the blood drain from her face and then rush back as she noticed Zoro trembling with barely restrained laughter. "Not one word…" she growled at the green haired swordsman who could no longer restrain his snickers. Nami walked over and crouched down to lay a hand on Luffy's shoulder, "Okay Luffy, let me explain. Normally people only do that with one person who is very special to them, but some people don't. If girls do it with lots of people, or if they do it with more than one person at once, then some people think a lot less of them. Nojiko didn't know that I had done it with all three of you, so she thought you were lying, and that's a really REALLY big insult if it's not true, and kind of not something you should just up and tell people even if it is. Most girls would shoot somebody who lied about them doing something like that, and Nojiko is my big sister, so she was very angry because she thought you were lying and dragging my name through the mud. Do you understand?"

"But, wait, so…we weren't all supposed to do it with you?" Luffy asked, clearly confused. Nami sighed, "By the rules of most society, _no_. I shouldn't have allowed you three to do that with me, _especially_ all at once, and I shouldn't have done that sexy dance for you, but by the rules of society I shouldn't have had sex with you _at all_ until we were married. The same goes for Nojiko, but because you're my friend and saved my home from Arlong, we're willing to do it with you, Atlas and Zoro. Nojiko was probably hoping to snag Zoro for herself because normally sex is a one on one thing. A lot of people get jealous about it and don't like to share. We're not most people though, and since the rules of society say we shouldn't be pirates either, I say _screw the rules, we're pirates._ " She declared with a mischievous grin, "So you go with Zoro and pick up the food we dropped when we heard Nojiko yelling at you, and I'll go explain it to her, kay?"

Luffy grinned, "Sure thing!" He got up and started to walk off, "Let's go Zoro! Meat!" "PUT SOME PANTS ON!" Zoro barked. Luffy blinked and looked down, "Oh, wrong meat…" "HELL YEAH WRONG MEAT!" Zoro barked as Nami started cackling, "QUIT JUST LOOKING AT IT AND PUT YOUR PANTS ON!"

…

…

Meanwhile, Two Islands Over

…

…

Atlas sealed the grave up and turned to the young woman clutching the pink haired doll with tears in her eyes, "I'm no priest, and I know there's nothing I can say to console you. The only advice I can give is to think of how much happier a place she is in now. I'm, no good at this consoling people thing, so I'm just going to stand over here and let you say goodbye. My offer of asylum still stands if you want it."

The young woman nodded, her vividly pink hair falling down over her watery brown eyes. Atlas stepped away and walked about twenty feet before sitting down on a stump. _I hate these moments,_ he thought to himself, _I hate feeling powerless like this. How can I tell her everything will be alright? How can I make her feel better? Why is that doll moving?_

Atlas shot a glance over his shoulder as his Haki alerted him to the fact that the doll had started hugging its owner back and then his eyes went wide as memories started rushing to the surface. He went slightly pale as he realized why the young woman and her recently deceased aunt looked so familiar, _Oh…oh shit…oh shit oh shit oh shit…those two aren't supposed to be here…why are they here? Who's the doll? It isn't Thunder Soldier…_

He immediately began scratching his head and recalling his memories from the ten years he'd spent in the Grand Line and comparing them to what he knew was supposed to be true. The more he thought, the more it became painfully clear. _Shit…_ he thought as he raised his eyes to stare at nothing, _Someone's messed with the time stream…_

He rose and turned, quickly walking back over to the new grave, "Excuse me miss, I just realized I've been terribly rude. I haven't asked your name…it wouldn't be Rebecca would it?" The girl looked up at him with eyes still red and puffy with tears, "What? No, my name's Mina…"

Then the doll stepped away from her and walked up to him to look at him with wide eyes, "How do you know my name?"

Atlas felt like he'd been hit in the face with a sledge hammer, "What?" Then the doll was suddenly at his throat with a knife that he had no idea where she'd pulled it from and murder in her eyes, "And what do you want from me and my little sister?"

Atlas's thoughts were summed up in one word as Mina's eyes went as wide as dinner plates, "What?" "You heard me," the now-named Rebecca demanded, looking abnormally murderous and scary for a little ragdoll, "What. Do you want. With us? Are you with him?! Did Doflamingo send you?!"

Atlas shook his head and raised his hands, "Nothing of the sort. In fact, I'd like to help you if I can." "Unless you've got a cure for Devil Fruit curses, or a magic bullet to kill that bastard, we don't need or want your help," Rebecca declared in frosty rage.

Atlas smiled slightly, "As it happens…" The air rippled around his hands and then with a sound like a balloon popping, a gorgeous young woman in a blue hoodie and a pink dress barely sticking out below the bottom of it with a double edged longsword had taken the place of the murderously defensive little doll. There was a round of surprised blinks and then it registered with the two girls what had just happened.

Rebecca was so stunned that she dropped her sword and staggered back to look at her hands, human for the first time in fifteen years. "I'm…I'm me again…" Tears welled in her eyes, "I'm…I'm finally _free!"_ Then her head snapped up, "Mina!" She whirled and launched to wrap the girl who was beyond any shadow of a doubt her little sister in a hug, "I'm so sorry! I wanted to tell you so badly!"

Mina pushed free of Rebecca's hug to hold her at arm's length and stare, "You're…my big sister?"

"That's the curse of the Hobi-hobi no mi," Atlas said quietly, "It allows its user to turn their victims into living toys, and wipes the victim from the memories of all who knew them. The user can also enslave the toy victims, but I'm thinking you were one of the first people she got. Am I right Rebecca?"

Rebecca moved between him and Mina, a steely paranoid light in her eyes, "How do you know so much about it?" "I am privy to a lot of knowledge that can't really be explained," Atlas replied quietly, "And the explanations I could give you that would have a ring of truth to them I have sworn to keep quiet. Until those oaths are betrayed, I cannot tell you how I know about Donquixote Doflamingo and his agents. For now, settle for the fact that I am no stranger to the Grand Line _or_ the New World, and I am familiar with many of its powerhouse figures."

Atlas sighed, "Know that I sympathize with your plight and have every intention of helping you kill that scum bag Doflamingo. I would guess from Viola's wounds that you were accosted by a man with sideburns like lightning bolts and sunglasses?" Rebecca and Mina's eyes went wide, "You know him?"

"I know _of_ him," Atlas replied, "His name is Vergo. The only question I have, is why he spared your lives. He's not the merciful sort from what I've heard of him, and if he'd had orders to eliminate you, I fully believe he would have."

Rebecca went stiff as a board and then Mina said quietly, "Can I have a moment alone with my big sister? I want to discuss that with her."

Atlas noted the grim look in the younger girl's eye and the almost frightened look in Rebecca's, "Of course. Take all the time you need."

…

…

Back At Nami & Nojiko's

…

…

When Nami stopped laughing, she went over to the door and knocked, "Nojiko? It's Nami." "Come on in," Nojiko called.

Nami stepped in and found Nojiko sitting at the table with her face in her hands, "Hey sis. Um, how much did you hear?" "All of it," Nojiko replied bluntly. Nami rubbed the back of her head, "So, ah, I guess, erm…do you…wanna talk about it?"

Nojiko folded her hands in front of her face and rested her forehead on them, "Not really. I heard enough." Nami flinched, that wasn't a good sign. "What I want to ask you Nami," Nojiko said quietly, "Is do you know how Devil Fruits taste? I know they exist now, but how do they taste?"

Nami blinked, "That's, kind of a weird question. I don't really know, I've never eaten one, but Atlas says they taste horrible. Luffy didn't remember what his tasted like, so I guess they probably taste pretty bad. Why do you ask?"

"Bad enough to say…spoil an entire sauce pan?" Nojiko asked quietly. Then it clicked and Nami's hand flew to her mouth, "Oh my god…you…" Nojiko raised her head and looked at Nami with an awestruck look in her eyes, "I can see… _everything…"_


	11. Chapter 11: Four Monsters

_**AN: And once more! Replies to the commenters! All one of them!**_

 _ **Voyagers Unite:**_ _I'm quite glad you're enjoying, and yes I rather thought it was a good plot twist. I like Rebecca a lot, she didn't get nearly enough development in Dressrosa, so I decided to bring her in WAY early and make her a part of the crew along with her little sister. This is actually the first sign of the temporal butterfly effect mentioned in this story's description. Other major changes will be revealed periodically throughout the story._

 ** _Without further ado, LET'S GET ROCKIN!_**

Chapter 11 – Four Monsters

…

A Little While Later

…

Nojiko looked over at Zoro from where she was sitting at the little outside table she often sat at to peel tangerines and sketch as the green haired swordsman walked through a sword kata, "Sooo, how did you wind up traveling with Nami, Luffy and Atlas?"

Zoro executed a slow block and counter slash with the sword in his teeth before turning and bringing down another strike, "'Ell," he grunted, "I wuv eatin' in dif eftaurant, an dif guy comev in. Got dif wild mutt with him, and da mutt triev to bite thif kid, fo I kicked it out." He smoothly reversed his overhead swing into a thrust and continued, "Den da guy fev he'v a marine and gonna have da girl ekfecuted, fo I cut a deal."

His thrust transitioned into a block as his other two swords came around in a double slash, "I'd ftay tied up in their yard or a month, and he'd wet it go. Then the little _mumble-mumble-mumble_ wanted to doublecrof me, but Luffy cut me loof afore dey could ekfacute me. Then we fought da marinev and da little bathtard tried to take Luffy's friend hoftage. Atlaf fowed up and fot the gun out of the little prick'v hand. After dat, we were a crew. Luffy's captain, I'm firft mate, Atlaf iv Quartermafter."

"That was very brave of you," Nojiko declared as she idly doodled a picture of the scene in her head. "Those marines sound horrible. What did they look like?" Zoro looked over at her, "Why?"

Nojiko turned her sketch pad around to show him, "I'm trying to draw it."

Zoro took his sword out of his mouth and sheathed all three as he stopped to examine Nojiko's idea of a quick sketch, "Wow, how long have you been working on that? There's no way you just started that." In the time it had taken Zoro to describe the incident, Nojiko had perfectly captured his, Luffy and Atlas's likenesses. Luffy and Zoro were fighting back to back in what Zoro had to admit were some pretty awesome poses, and Atlas was a shadowy figure holding a gun in the background as another gun was blown apart across the page.

Zoro sat down across from Nojiko, "That's incredible…Are you gonna draw the rest of the scene?" Nojiko turned it around and frowned at it, "Any other important people I should make sure to include?" Zoro scratched his head, "Ah, Coby, that was Luffy's friend's name. He was short and had glasses, kinda pudgy with a helpless look on his face…"

Nojiko's pen flew across the paper by the spot where the gun was exploding as the image formed in her mind. Then she turned it around, "Like this?" Zoro gaped, "Ok, I understand how you were able to draw me and Luffy and Atlas so well, but that's just uncanny!" Nojiko blinked, "Was I that close?" " _Close?_ " Zoro exclaimed, "It looks exactly like him!"

Nojiko grinned and turned it back around to look at it, "Really? Cool!" Her eyes flicked up to him, "Anyone else I should include?" "Yeah the little brat and his dad, Axe-Hand Morgan," Zoro declared. "The brat, I can't even remember his name, he had blonde hair and his head looked like a mushroom, he looked _really_ stupid and he wore really fancy clothes, like he'd go strutting around town in a three piece suit with a gold chain around his neck…" A moment later Nojiko turned the pad around again and Zoro was once again flummoxed. Then he wagged a finger at her, "You're spooky."

Nojiko grinned playfully and Zoro tried very hard not to blush as she asked if there was anyone else. Zoro nodded, "Yeah, uh, Axe-Hand Morgan. He was about eight feet tall I'd guess, he had this huge axe where his right hand was supposed to be and a metal jaw. Wore marine camo pants and a sleeveless blue shirt, smoked a cigar, really angry looking all the time…" Nojiko's hand and pen flew and a moment later her eyes flickered across the paper as her hand raced.

About five minutes later she turned it around and showed it to Zoro with a playful grin, "Like this?" Zoro gaped, "Whoa…"

What Nojiko had made in a scant few minutes was nothing short of a masterpiece to Zoro's eyes. Everyone in the picture looked as though she had traced them from a photograph, and the poses were spot on. Luffy and Zoro looked every bit the epic bad asses Zoro knew they were as they fought back to back in a circle of marines armed with sabers while Morgan raised his axe hand to strike them down. Atlas was looming out of a cloud of dust to the left of the picture, looking as sinister as could be with his pistol trained across the page on the exploding gun in the hand of Helmeppo which was right next to a terrified Coby's head. "That's incredible…" Zoro whispered.

Nojiko's grin widened, "Was I close?" "I'm starting to wonder if you were _there_ ," Zoro declared honestly, "Everyone looks exactly the way I remember, the only thing that's wrong is that Atlas snuck up behind Helmeppo to, _that_ was his name! Helmeppo! Anyway, other than that, that's as good as any photograph I've ever seen. You're amazing Nojiko."

Nojiko's smile widened further, as she turned it around and doodled an ornate little box at the bottom of the page and labeled it, "Formation of the Strawhat Pirates".

Then she turned to a fresh page and shot an eager, teasing grin across the top of her sketchpad at Zoro, "Any other adventures you want to tell me about?"

…

…

Meanwhile

…

…

Nami panted as she narrowly held onto the tangerine tree and Luffy's bare chest pressed into her back, their chests heaving with exertion, "You know what Luffy? I don't think we're going to get many tangerines picked." Luffy laughed, "Shishishi, don't worry, it'll go really fast when we're done!"

Nami grinned and turned around to wrap her legs around his waist, "Well then, I guess we can take a _little_ more time."

…

…

Elsewhere

…

…

"You know," Atlas declared as he examined the little panda like birds, "I don't believe I've ever seen this kind of bird before." "They. Are so. _CUTE!_ " Mina declared delightedly as she gave one the tightest gentle hug she could. It spoke volumes about how friendly and intelligent the little birds were that the little bird actually hugged her back.

Rebecca smiled as she looked at the one perched on the hilt of her sword saluting her, "They certainly are." Mina lifted the little bird in her hands up and gave it the sweetest smile she could, "Do you want to be my pet?" "Groooo!" the panda-bird replied with its wings raised upwards. Mina's smile grew, "Good! I'm gonna call you Po!"

Rebecca smiled, "And is Po going to be like Tora, Vipy, Manny, Justice, and Pants?" Mina turned and stuck her tongue out at Rebecca as she set Po on her shoulder, "Just because they had other adventures to go on doesn't mean that they are not still my pets!" She pouted slightly, "I wish you'd realize that."

Atlas smiled wanly as he rowed the little boat along back towards Cocoyashi, "So you've had a lot of pets huh?" Mina turned, her smile now returning, "Yeah! I had Tora, she was a tiger cub, and Vipy was a garter snake. Manny was a Grand Line Mantis and Justice was a crane, and then Pants was a monkey who pulled down the pants on some guys who were chasing us and then stole and wore them."

Atlas blinked and then an old memory clicked. He grinned, "If you ever get them all together again, find a red panda named Shifu and have him teach them kung fu."

Mina's jaw dropped, "HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?!"

Atlas's eyes bugged out, " _YOU MEAN THAT ALREADY HAPPENED?!"_ He recovered quickly and leaned over to poke Po gently, "You be careful around that wildebeest ya hear me? You should be alright against the leopard and the peacock, but that wildebeest is fierce."

Po and Mina's eyes bugged out in unison as Po asked, "Groo?" "Can you see the future Atlas-sensei?" Mina asked in a voice of quiet awe. Atlas grinned, "Not very well, and only a moment at most. I'd call it more highly advanced analytical ability than seeing the future, but I _have_ heard that story before. I never imagined it would come true. That's quite a friend you've picked up Mina! He just might be an incredibly powerful ally one day, not that you'll need the back up when I'm done," he added with a grin.

Mina and Po swapped a grin. Rebecca drummed her fingers on the blade of her sword, "I've been wondering Atlas-san, you said you could train us, but what are you going to train us in?"

Atlas's grin turned slightly frightening, "Isn't it obvious Rebecca? _Everything._ " Rebecca recoiled slightly from the suddenly scary grin, "Um, _everything?_ "

Atlas nodded, "Yes. Everything I can teach you two, I will. I actually like to think I'm quite an accomplished teacher. I have many friends who I've helped learn and grow to reach closer to their fullest potential. As for what I intend to teach you two specifically, and I apologize in advance because I know that this is likely a touchy subject, I don't doubt for an instant that your aunt fought back when Vergo came for you, and I'm sure she was a formidable fighter. Vergo however is trained in what's called Rokushiki, an extremely powerful set of martial arts which grant superhuman combat abilities. No ordinary human would likely be able to stand against even _one_ of the six power. Vergo I know has mastered at least three, and I would not be surprised if he knew a fourth or even all six. I doubt he knows the secret seventh, I know of only two people in the world who are capable of using it."

Rebecca and Mina were now listening with utterly rapt attention as Atlas continued, "First off is what's called Shave. It grants the user nigh invisible speed by kicking off the ground ten times in an instant. Only those with Observation Haki and exceptional reflexes can combat a Shave user. Basic Observation Haki can keep up with it, most of the people who have that level don't even realize they have it, so I'm not worried about you being able to see it Rebecca. Mina, how's your Observation?"

Mina couldn't meet his gaze, "Ahhh…actually I'm not very good at it. I can only just barely predict movements. Aunt Viola said I used Conqueror's Haki once, but I don't remember it very well and can't summon it on command."

Atlas nodded, "That's good, and don't worry, I can teach Observation and Armament. You will however be tied with my captain as the first of my students to have ever had Conqueror's." He grinned, "It should be fun! Well, more for me than you. The only way I know to train Conqueror's is to use it and stand up to it, which basically means I'm gonna blast you with mine over and over again until you can stand up to it and fight back. Of course," he smirked, "That's actually probably going to be the least physically demanding part of your training."

"Aaanyway," he continued with a grin as he cast a glance over his shoulder, "The other five of the six powers I'll be teaching you are Moonwalk, Finger Pistol, Iron Body, Paper Art, and Tempest Kick. Moonwalk is jumping off the air, allowing you to run and bounce off air. It's not quite flight, but it's still an immense agility boost. Finger Pistol might be better termed Finger Dagger, as that's basically what it is. There is a more advanced version which actually acts like a pistol, but the basic version is just a finger poke with the power to punch through flesh like cheese. Iron Body is also exactly what it sounds like, you make your body so hard that normal attacks just bounce right off you. That's the one I'm best at along with Moonwalk and Shave."

"Paper Art," he declared, "is dodging taken to its utmost extremes, letting your instincts take over to such a degree that you are able to dodge without consciously having to. It's one of the few things able to circumvent Observation Haki. Before we make it to the New World, I want you both to have mastered Paper Art, Moonwalk, and Shave." He raised his eyes to meet theirs, "I promised to protect you in addition to teaching you, so in those lessons I will strive to let my instruction protect you whenever I cannot. There are forces which no defense can withstand, and foes you won't be able to face. We will almost certainly encounter threats of that caliber in the New World, and when we do, I want you both to be able to get away while I hold them off."

Rebecca frowned, "But if no defense can withstand them, and they're foes we can't beat, then how are you going to win?" Atlas smiled thinly, "How will I win you ask Rebecca? It's very simple. You probably realized already with your Observation, but even though I don't like to toot my own horn, I have to admit I'm a bit of a beast myself. Where I'm from, anyone who isn't an absolute _monster_ by the rest of the world's standards simply _can't survive_. I survived and was doing well before I left to see the rest of this big beautiful world. Long story short? Those foes you currently don't have a prayer of beating? _I'm one of them._ "

Rebecca frowned, "That's a little bold to just be up and declaring don't you think? Not to mention a little bit rude." Atlas's smile shrank, "I am sorry if it came out that way. I did not intend to belittle you, it was merely a statement of fact. However, I can see that you have some pride in your abilities, and rightly so. So with that in mind, let me show you a demonstration of _my_ abilities."

He rose and turned, spreading his hands out before him, "The bane of all Devil Fruit users is the sea. To fall into it, or anything even resembling it, is to lose our power and see our vitality washed away in an instant. Even before I ate my devil fruit, I was stronger than most can imagine. Now?"

He clapped his hands together, almost as though in prayer, and then, _"_ _ **OPEN!**_ " Rebecca and Mina could only gawk as the sea suddenly ripped itself in two before them, a solid canyon in the ocean down to the sea floor a hundred feet below and reaching all the way to the horizon.

"Can you imagine what would happen to a ship caught in the middle of that?" Atlas asked quietly. He clapped his hands back together and the two walls of the sea chasm slammed into each other with the force of tsunamis and the roar of a million thunderclaps. Atlas didn't even flinch as the boat rocked wildly beneath him and Rebecca and Mina held on for dear life.

When the sea stopped trembling Atlas declared firmly, "While my strength is not without limits, and my powers do take a considerable amount out of me, my abilities are firmly in the territory inhabited by the beasts that dwell within the New World. Nothing in the Four Blues can stand against me, and very few things in Paradise could confront me, even fewer on what could be considered an equal footing."

"In case you need any further convincing that I've got the bite to back up my bark," he added as he raised a fist and turned it black with Haki, "Observe the uninhabited rock to your right." Rebecca and Mina needed no further convincing, but Atlas was on a roll. He disappeared and reappeared above the twenty foot high rock jutting up out of the surf. _"_ _ **HOWLING THUNDER!**_ _"_

His fist descended on the rock sheathed in a nimbus of lightning and the massive stone didn't so much shatter as _explode._ Before the last pieces had even hit the water, Atlas was back in the prow of the boat as Rebecca and Mina stared in awe, Po peeking out of Mina's coat in abject terror.

"That's something else I'll be teaching you," Atlas declared, "How to get special effects out of your Armament Haki. Some people can make battle auras, some people make shockwaves or flames. I make lightning and thunder. That's how I got my name. I can infuse Haki with my shouts to shake the fight out of entire battalions. Robin called it a wave of pure fear and declared me a low level thunder god."

He smiled thinly, "Needless to say, the forces of the Grand Line are a _wee_ bit stronger than they were before me and mine came along. Everyone's had to step up their game to avoid getting crushed under the heels of the organizations we've joined."

It took a second for that to sink in and then Mina and Rebecca exclaimed in shock, "THERE'S MORE THAN ONE LIKE YOU?!"

Atlas nodded with a small smile, "At least three. One is a major broker in the underworld, does a lot of the go between for Joker and the Yonko Kaido. The second is an agent of the World Government's Cipher Pol. Drop dead gorgeous and really fun to be around, but when she gets her orders she's a terror if ever there was one. I don't mind though, she's _terribly_ persuasive," he declared with a wry grin, a nosebleed and narrowly discernable hearts in his eyes at what was no doubt a _very_ lewd memory.

Then he shook the hearts from his eyes and continued while wiping his nose, "and last but not least is an _extremely_ powerful pirate captain who is well on his way to being an outright pirate _admiral._ His initial crew were stronger than your average pirates, even for the first half of the Line, and since then he's assimilated eight more powerful crews with himself at the top and eight _very_ formidable pirates heading up the ships that now comprise his fleet. I don't think any of them had a bounty of less than fifty million when he recruited them."

"Again," he added as Rebecca and Mina stared, "all four of us are absolute _beasts_ in combat, and none of us are exactly _slouches_ in the brains department. That's how we've made it so far _._ When I'm done, you two will be strong by our standards as well."

There was quiet for a moment and then Mina asked, "Um, Atlas-sensei, how strong _are_ your standards?" "The Shichibukai are what I and those like me would dub tough," Atlas replied, "Not unbeatable by _any_ stretch, but not to be taken lightly either. I've got the strongest armament of the four of us and the best grasp of combat. The others are masters in their respective fields as well, but combat is my domain, and believe you me, I'm _good_."

Rebecca nodded slowly and then a small smile spread across her face, " _Teach us._ "

…

…

Meanwhile

…

…

Zoro and Nojiko looked over at Nami and Luffy as they returned from the tangerine grove, Luffy toting a large basket of tangerines. Nojiko raised an eyebrow, "So, when's the wedding?" Nami immediately blushed crimson and Luffy tilted his head in confusion.

Zoro sniffed and then his eyes bugged out as he realized what the two had been doing all morning, "LUFFYYY! ARE YOU _TRYING_ TO GET HER PREGNANT?!" Luffy frowned, "What's pregnant?"

Nami buried her face in her hands, "A baby Luffy. He's asking if you're trying to make me a mommy." Luffy thought about it for a moment and then, "I think you'd make a good mommy."

" _EEP!"_ Nami squeaked as she blushed even more crimson. Then she reached over and smacked him in the head, "DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT! I'M TOO YOUNG TO HAVE A BABY! EVEN IF YOU ARE AMAZING AND SWEET AND AWESOME IN BED…" then she realized her nose was leaking blood at that last one and she immediately covered it.

Luffy leaned in, "Hey Nami, are you alright? Your nose is bleeding and you're all red faced." Nami scrunched her eyes shut and then sighed, "I give up." She caught Luffy by the hand and dragged him towards the house, "We're just gonna have to go at it until I get it out of my system for a while, otherwise I'm not gonna be able to think straight."

Luffy blinked and then grinned, "Shishishishi, sounds fun!"

A moment later the door closed behind them and Nojiko turned to look at Zoro, "I think we may need to get a room somewhere else tonight. We won't get _any_ sleep in there," she declared as she raised her glass to drink while Zoro set his down and looked over at her.

"And here I thought you wanted us to join in," Zoro declared bluntly. Nojiko immediately choked and had to set her glass back on the table as she tried to cough out the wine obstructing her airways. Zoro walked over and rubbed her back until she quit coughing. Nojiko came up to scold him, but was cut off by her body reminding her of what she'd been thinking about doing the night before. She pursed her lips, _Well, already did the captain…_ Then she grinned wickedly, "You're on."

…

…

An Hour Later

…

…

Atlas raised an eyebrow as Mina and Rebecca covered their eyes, "Well, I can't say I'm _completely_ surprised to find them like this. I suppose we'll have to wait until they wake up to introduce you two."

Zoro and Nojiko didn't even notice as Atlas summoned the ship to the little dock out back and led Rebecca and Mina aboard.


	12. Chapter 12: Decision Time

**AN: Hey all, I'm back again! As always, before we get started reviewer responses!**

 **VoyagersUnite:** _X) Yep, that's why Zoro called Nojiko's ability "spooky", he didn't mention it, but she drew it anyway! Thank you very much for your high praise and I shall strive to continue earning it. Also never fear, I am far from out of surprises, as I feel certain this chapter shall demonstrate!_

 **Seeker of Immortality:** _Yes I fully understand that many might not be all that comfortable with how Nami and Nojiko have been behaving these last few chapters. That is intentional. You see what none of the characters realize is that I've got a nice big mallet labeled "Deconstruction" in hand ready to smack them all upside the heads with it. I take my work very seriously, and rest assured that I'd never write smut simply for the sake of smut._

 **22darthvadrulesall:** _I said he was one of four. I never said that they were all part of the same team. They've encountered each other and managed to figure out their common origins, and they do indeed get along surprisingly well because of it. However that doesn't mean they're allies. None of them would hesitate for more than a moment to kill the others if they had to. Yes, they have all rocked the Grand Line, but that was as individuals. Two went into business for themselves (the pirate and the underworld kingpin) and two joined organizations and climbed to the top (Atlas and the Cipher Pol agent). Everyone who has interacted with them has been forced to step up their game or get left in the dust._

 _Of the six characters I introduced in Chapters 9 &10, only five are actually OC's. One is canon, good luck guessing who! They're the heroes of a different but intertwined story, so we'll be seeing them mentioned periodically, but they won't be taking center stage until time to reveal who Sherry and her Grandpa are. _

**Without further ado, LET'S GET ROCKIN!**

Chapter 12 – Decision Time

…

…

Two Days Later

…

…

Atlas's eye twitched as he looked down from the deck at Nami and Nojiko's house, where he could hear the four love birds going at it like rabbits. They hadn't stopped since the night after Arlong's death except to eat food that didn't take any significant preparation, using the bathroom, and sleep. _They even followed each other into the shower!_ Atlas thought exasperatedly, "Alright, I'm all for fun and games, but enough. IS. **_ENOUGH!_** " He roared the last word and activated his powers, forcibly shutting down the sex drives of everyone in his range for the next 72 hours.

He tilted his head and then a small smile grew as he heard the four stop and begin to put their clothes back on in confusion. He turned to Rebecca and Mina who were looking at him with wide eyes in the midst of their morning workout, "Okay you two, finish your pushups and then come with me. It's time for you to meet the rest of the crew."

…

…

Five Minutes Later

…

…

"Hey Atlas," Nojiko asked with a mildly annoyed expression, "Are you the one who made it weird all of a sudden?" The other three lovebirds all turned to look at him as one.

"Yes," Atlas replied bluntly, "You four have been going at it pretty much _non-stop_ for the last forty eight hours, and Luffy and Nojiko have been going for even longer than that. You're going to wear yourselves out and get the girls pregnant."

"But Nami and Nojiko would both make _excellent_ mommies," Luffy protested, earning immediate blushes from both as Zoro nodded.

Atlas sighed exasperatedly, "Nobody said they wouldn't, but how are you going to go have adventures if you have to take babies along? You can't be Pirate King if you can't go on adventures, and you can't go on adventures with these two if they're pregnant. It would likely end up hurting the babies. Pregnant means _no adventures or fights for at least one year._ "

Luffy and Zoro both immediately went ghostly pale. "Right," Zoro replied, "Lay off the sex. Got it."

Atlas shot a flat look at Nami and Nojiko, "It also means _no thievery, antics or drinking_ for at least nine months." Nami and Nojiko joined Luffy and Zoro in the "Ghostly Pale" club and they agreed as well.

Atlas sighed and smiled faintly, "Well good, now that we've got that sorted, I'd like to introduce my two new students, Rebecca and Mina. Zoro, Rebecca's nearly as good with a sword as you are and Luffy, Mina has devil fruit powers and an adorable panda-bird. Any objections to them joining our crew?"

"Nope," Luffy declared with a grin. Atlas breathed a small sigh of relief, "Good deal. Well then," he smiled brightly, "How about you Nojiko? You coming with us?"

Nojiko blinked, "Huh? Well, um, I, it honestly hadn't even occurred to me…I mean, I bet it would be fun…but I can't just leave…what would happen to the orchard, the house…it's home…"

Atlas waved a hand with a small grin, "Pffft…If that's all that's holding you back, I'll help you pack!" Nojiko started to protest and then Atlas's grin turned scary again, "I don't think you understand. _I'm helping you pack._ " He raised his hands and suddenly the air all around the group began to ripple. The ground began to rumble and then Atlas snapped his hands together as though he were catching a ball, and everything looked different.

As it registered with the now six Strawhats that the lush orchard and quaint house had suddenly been replaced with a crater, Atlas rushed past them. They turned just in time to see him scoop something up in his palms and set it gently on a plate. He walked quickly back past them, "You're packed. Let's go, I got us supplies while you were all trying to out bone the local rabbit population."

Atlas was halfway up the gangplank grinning like a maniac before Nojiko realized what had happened and shrieked, "DID YOU JUST SHRINK MY HOUSE?!"

Atlas didn't stop walking up the gangplank, he just grinned even wider and cackled, "Who says you can't take it with you?! Welcome aboard Miss Lookout! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Nojiko actually pulled up short for an instant at the base of the gangplank as she realized what he had called her. Then she resumed chasing him shouting, " _HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?! I HAVEN'T EVEN TOLD LUFFY AND ZORO YET!_ "

Before she made it to the top of the gangplank, a massive cage suddenly erupted seemingly out of thin air and slammed down onto the deck. The impact threw Nojiko from the gangplank and Luffy only narrowly managed to catch her. The Strawhats could only watch in shock as glass flew and expanded mid-air to form a massive greenhouse over the deck and then trees erupted inside it.

A moment later Atlas popped out of a hatch at the top of the gangplank and shot them a thumbs up with a big grin, "DONE!"

"YOU JACKASS!" Nojiko shouted, "THAT ALMOST KILLED ME!"

Atlas blinked, "Eh?" Then he realized what must have happened, "OH SHIT! Are you hurt? Is there anything bleeding, sore, throbbing, or anything else? Luffy did you catch her in time?!" He ran down the gangplank chanting his favorite swearword, before racing over to Nojiko to look her whole body over like a panicking mother hen. Nojiko decided to take out her frustration by punching him in the jaw as hard as she could…an action which shattered three of her knuckles.

Nojiko's expression went from rage to agony in an instant and Atlas immediately grabbed the offending digit, " _DAMAGE TRANSLOCATION!"_ Then _he_ was the one staggering around making pained grunts and barking swearwords bug eyed with seemingly more indignation than pain as Nojiko and the others watched in shock and confusion.

Nojiko looked at Luffy, "Could he _be_ any weirder?" Luffy shrugged, "I dunno."

"You should probably get used to it," Rebecca declared dryly, "He's actually pretty _sane_ for someone from the Grand Line. Most people are _significantly_ crazier."

Zoro looked at Nami, "We are going to need a _lot_ of booze for this trip." Nami nodded, "Well, at least he can make us as much as we need with his powers." Zoro looked at her in shock, "He can make more booze the way he makes more food?!" Nami nodded, "The way I understood it, he can do that with _anything_." Zoro looked at Atlas with awe, "No wonder you slept with him…"

Nami smacked him, "I slept with you too jackass!" She crossed her arms and pouted, "I'm not _that_ shallow, and for the record, it was only _once,_ he doesn't want to do it again because he knows how huge an age gap there is now, I won't do it again because I'm pretty sure he's married, and besides I'm with Luffy now."

Zoro frowned at her in complete and utter confusion, "Huh?" "She's trying to rationalize and come to terms with the fact that she's been acting slutty," Rebecca declared bluntly.

Nami froze and then turned crimson, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" she shrieked.

Rebecca blinked at her completely unfazed as Zoro stepped out of her way, "You just admitted to sleeping with three separate guys in what Atlas has told me to be less than a week. You don't come across as a completely lewd individual who would do that with just anybody, and I can tell from the way you just reacted to having it mentioned that you clearly don't want promiscuity associated with you. Of the three you seem to find Luffy the most desirable, which is likely why you've fixated on him rather than Zoro or Atlas-sensei."

She paused for a second as Nami gawked at her, mulled her next words over and then continued, "Atlas-sensei told me about what happened to you and your sister. You're a skilled thief but you've been telling yourself for years that you're only thieving from people who deserve it and that it's for a good cause. You likely have very strong moral values, and as such you don't like the thought of being what society would consider a bad person, so you are now trying to rationalize and reconcile yourself to the fact that over the last week or two you've let yourself indulge in things you normally never would have, ie, enjoying sex to a degree most would deem slutty."

"For the record," Rebecca continued calmly, "I don't see anything wrong with enjoying something that is intended to be enjoyable. Luffy, Zoro and Atlas-sensei are all undoubtedly desirable men and it's natural for you to want to be with them. As long as you're willing to take responsibility and raise whatever children you may have as a loving and caring mother, then there's nothing wrong at all and those who would say otherwise can go hop off a cliff."

There was complete silence for several minutes and then Atlas wandered back over gumming his throbbing hand, "Knew there was a reason I liked you…I'm gonna go soak this...see if I can get it to heal…never had a broken bone before…"

Atlas wandered up the deck muttering to himself and the others turned their attention back to Rebecca. Rebecca quirked an eyebrow at Nami. Nami was quiet for a moment and then, "How do you know all that about me?"

"I was a living doll for fifteen years trying to protect my baby sister while we were on the run in the most dangerous seas in the world with our aunt who was the world's best at reading people," Rebecca replied bluntly, "I picked up a few things about psychoanalysis to protect myself and my family."

"Devil Fruit," Mina supplied quickly to answer the question forming in everyone's minds, "She got cursed by a devil fruit and now she sucks at socializing because of it." Rebecca sighed, "Yes, and I'm terrible at talking to people because a ragdoll moving around and talking on its own usually freaked people out even in the Grand Line."

Nami blinked, not entirely sure how to react to the pink haired girls' bizarre explanation, "Um…I'm…sorry?" Rebecca blinked in confusion, "I thought I was apologizing?" Luffy chuckled, "You're funny, I'm glad Atlas found you."

Rebecca blinked and then smiled, "Thank you, I am too. Being a ragdoll sucked."

…

…

Meanwhile

…

…

In his dimly lit room aboard the ship, Atlas lowered his hand into the water he had heated over a candle and winced as the heat washed over his ruined hand. "That was good Atlas," he muttered, "Just uproot her house and bring her along whether she likes it or not. Great way to endear yourself to the new crewmate. Gotta stay out of those decisions from now on…"

He dropped his head onto the table, "Guh…Why am I even here? I can't do anything for them…they'll be great whether I help or not…They'll have a harder time because of how much more dangerous our influence has made the Line, but with Rebecca and Mina and Nojiko having the Glare-glare fruit now they'll be fine…All me being here will do is bring down more trouble on their heads…I should leave…"

Then his Haki blared a warning at him as a voice suddenly declared, "Perhaps you're right."

Atlas's head snapped bolt upright and he beheld a beautiful young blonde woman closing the door into his room…a beautiful young blonde woman who set every self-preservative instinct he had blaring the alarm. _How the hell did she get in here without me noticing?_

"My name is Sherry," she declared as she locked the door behind her and locked eyes with him, "You and I have a lot to talk about."

"Yes," Atlas replied steadily as he formed a chair with his powers and gestured to it, "I suppose we do. Have a seat."

…

…

An Hour Later

…

…

Luffy had no warning as Atlas suddenly appeared behind him looking ready for all out war. The first thing Luffy knew about Atlas's presence was Atlas grabbing him by the seat of the pants and the back of the shirt, lifting him overhead and slamming him down onto his knee. If Atlas had used Haki, Luffy's spine would've shattered and left him paralyzed.

Instead Luffy stretched and when Atlas let go Luffy went flying into the air. Atlas reappeared in front of him and smashed a Haki infused fist into his face with enough force to send him flying back to the ground even faster than he had gone into the sky. Atlas teleported and turned the ground black with Haki, making Luffy's landing every bit as painful as it should have been.

Atlas gave him a dispassionate stare as he tried to figure out what had happened, "Get up Pirate King. Were I a marine or otherwise your enemy, you'd be catching a death blow right now."

Luffy pulled himself to his feet, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Atlas slid into a stance, "Your training begins now." Luffy blinked and then paled, "Training?"

Atlas rocketed forward and delivered a punch infused with just enough Haki for Luffy's nose to push in a little before his head snapped back like a shot from a cannon, "YES!"

He snatched Luffy by the arm and shoulder flipped him, turning the ground black with Haki again so that Luffy felt every ounce of the impact. The instant Luffy's head snapped back Atlas drove a Haki infused stomp down into his stomach and drove the wind from him. Atlas didn't give Luffy a moment to catch his breath, he kept the ground black with Haki and after catching Luffy by the feet began to swing him over his head like a hammer and repeatedly smash him into the ground.

He slammed Luffy several times and then on the last one he allowed the ground to return to normal so that Luffy would bounce. Luffy bounced up into the air and Atlas drove a Haki infused fist into his solar plexus with enough force to send the rubber man flying. "YOU WANT TO CALL YOURSELF KING OF THE PIRATES?!" Atlas roared with a blast of Conqueror's Haki, " _DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH! YOU'RE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO CONQUER THE GRAND LINE!"_

Luffy got up and his eyes were shadowed by the brim of his hat. He raised his head to glare at Atlas and then raised his thumb to his mouth, " _Second G-!"_ Atlas didn't let him finish, a Haki infused fist slamming into Luffy's face and smacking his teeth away from his hand. Atlas caught Luffy's face as his nose began to spurt blood and slammed his head into the ground, _"_ _ **DO NOT!"**_ he roared, _"_ _RELY ON POWER UPS THAT REQUIRE YOU TO HAVE AN OBVIOUS TELL AND ACTIVATION SEQUENCE!_ "

He snatched Luffy upright, the rubberman's neck stretching before his body followed…right into a savage punch from Atlas's jet black fist as Atlas barked, "IF YOU CAN'T BEAT ME IN YOUR BASE FORM THEN YOU'RE NOT STRONG ENOUGH!" Atlas straightened up and let Luffy lie as he glared down at him, "All the power _in the world_ is USELESS if all I have to do in order to keep you from using it is keep your hands away from your mouth. If all I have to do to stop you from fighting at your full strength is get in close and keep your hands occupied, then you'll _lose and die a thousand times over_ in the Grand Line against the monsters like me that roam there."

Atlas sighed, "I wish I could introduce you to Katakuri-sama and get _him_ to teach you. _He's_ actually probably strong enough to take the crown if he gave a damn about it. Since I can't and the price for his tutelage would be too steep, I'm going to have to teach you instead, and _teach you I will,"_ he added in a very threatening tone as Luffy went to protest. Luffy promptly shut his mouth and looked up at his quartermaster with no small amount of fear.

"You're no doubt remembering your grandfather's idea of teaching," Atlas declared calmly, "Rest assured, this will be every bit as difficult for you as that was, but unlike your grandfather, I am actively _interested_ in turning you into the next Pirate King rather than deterring you. So while beatings like this are going to likely be a daily occurrence to help you hone your skills," A smile broke through his grim façade, "I'll be a little bit friendlier about your motivations. So," he knelt and extended a hand, "Are you ready Luffy, to start on your journey to the top in earnest?"

The watching members of the crew felt a spark of hope. If Atlas could teach Luffy to be that strong then he'd be unbeatable right? _Take the hand…_ Zoro thought at Luffy with all his might.

Luffy's response was to punch Atlas in the face as hard as he could. His reward was every bone in his hand shattering on collision with Atlas's jet black and rock hard face.

Atlas's hand slowly clenched into a fist as his smile faded. He rose, "Add to the list of reasons it _won't_ be you if you don't change: You're immature, ruled completely by your emotions and you haven't got a clue when you're out of your league, so you just go barreling off into situations that you haven't got a prayer of winning. Grow up and shape up Luffy, while you still can." He turned to go, "The offer of my assistance and training still stands if you decide you want it."

"Get out of here," Luffy said quietly at about Atlas's third step. Atlas stopped, "Come again?" "Go away! I don't want you as part of my crew anymore!" Luffy declared angrily, "I thought you were my friend, but you're just a jerk!"

Atlas didn't look over his shoulder or turn to face Luffy, but the rest of the Strawhats could see the not just dark but _utterly furious_ look on Atlas's face.

"Very well," Atlas said quietly. He snapped his fingers and suddenly Nami and Nojiko's house and the entire orchard were right back where he had taken them from. Another snap and the treasure that they had pilfered in Goa Kingdom as well as everything that Luffy, Nami and Zoro had had on the ship appeared piled outside the house as the ship disappeared. "Lesson Number Two Luffy!" Atlas called over his shoulder as he began to walk away, "Listen to your crew, 'cause you're not smart or experienced enough to know the best course of action! If you don't learn that by the time you make it to the Line, you won't last a month!"

He paused for a moment and looked at the flabbergasted Straw Hats, "Anyone who wants to follow me is welcome to. I'm heading back to the Line." Rebecca and Mina shot one last glance at Luffy and the others before swapping a glance and falling in step behind Atlas. Atlas stopped when he got to Zoro and extended a hand, "Zoro."

Zoro blinked and then nodded and shook the hand, "Good luck out there." Atlas nodded, "Back at you brother. I hope to see you on the Line." He tipped his hat to Nami and Nojiko, "Ladies. Best of luck to you both."

…

…

Half An Hour Later

…

…

Atlas paused and Rebecca and Mina nearly walked into him. "Are you satisfied?" Atlas asked seemingly nobody in particular. It was the first time he had spoken since they had left the rubber man behind them. Then Rebecca and Mina both nearly jumped from their skins as a voice like silk clad steel in the shape of a sadistic smile purred from behind them, " _Completely._ "

They whirled just in time to see a cloud of dust stir where the pirate called the Golden Lioness had been a moment earlier.

...

...

 _ **SBS TIME:**_

 _ **...**_

 _ **Q: Where did the inspiration for Atlas come from?**_

 _ **A: Atlas is something of a self insert, he has all my knowledge and a significant amount of my personality. That's about half of who he is. The other half, in keeping with the One Piece tradition of modeling pirate characters after famous real life pirates, he is modeled after one of the most infamous pirates of all, the mighty Long John Silver.**_

 _ **...**_

 _ **That's all for now! SBS is open for questions to any who have any!**_

 _ **Til next time, Ghost out!**_


	13. Chapter 13: Poor Life Choices

**AN: Hey everybody! What a doozy of a chapter that last one was eh? Don't worry, this train ain't stoppin'! Since I know you're all hyped to see what happens next, I'm putting my reviewer replies down at the end of the chapter this time, we'll get back to regular format with them at the beginning of the chapter in Chapter 15!**

 **For now though, I can tell you're already impatient, so let's get rockin'!**

Chapter 13 – Poor Life Choices

…

Fifteen Minutes After Atlas Left

…

Luffy tried very hard not to squirm as Nami attempted to set his shattered hand. "We should really go to the doctor to have this looked at," she said quietly, "Your hand is torn up pretty badly. I can't fix this alone."

Luffy nodded, "Alright." But he wasn't really listening or paying attention even as Nami led him towards town. His navigator would steer him right, right? She had to be his navigator. She had already shown him so much, and the thought of losing her like…no. He wouldn't lose anyone else. He couldn't have misjudged her like that. Right? Right?

…

…

Later

…

…

Dr. Nako grimaced as he finished examining Luffy's hand, "Kid, I don't know what you did to this hand, but there's nothing I can do to save it without extensive surgery."

Luffy frowned, "What's surgery?"

Dr. Nako frowned and looked at Nami, "Is he serious?" Nami nodded and turned to Luffy, "What he means is that he's going to have to put you to sleep and cut your hand open to put the bone back together like a jigsaw puzzle. You know puzzles right?"

Luffy frowned at his throbbing hand, "Wouldn't that hurt me more?" Dr. Nako crossed his arms and huffed at him, "Kid if I _don't_ do it then you'll never be able to use that hand again! The alternative to complete reconstructive surgery is amputation and getting a prosthetic. Considering how extensive the damage is, I may not even be _able_ to fix it, but wouldn't you rather I try than just go ahead and cut it off?"

Nami laid a hand on Luffy's shoulder, "It's okay Luffy, Dr. Nako knows what he's doing. He'll just stick you with a needle and then you'll go to sleep and when you wake up, he'll probably have it all fixed for you!" Then a thought occurred to her, "Hey Dr. Nako, will Luffy's powers complicate the procedure any?"

Nako frowned at her, "Powers?" Nami nodded, "Luffy ate a devil fruit, so now he's a rubber man. Show him Luffy." Luffy reached up with his good hand and pulled his cheek almost a foot from his face before letting it snap back. "I'm a rubber man," he declared.

Nako stared for a moment and then took it in stride, "A devil fruit huh? Yes that might complicate things a little," then he thought for a moment, "but it might also make things a little easier. Come back tomorrow and I'll ask around about ways to repair rubber. There may be a quicker way than simply setting it and letting it heal naturally. Can you leave me a tissue sample to experiment with?"

Luffy frowned, "Tissues? Why do you need tissues?" Nami caught a handful of Luffy's hair and pulled it until it was nearly a foot long before taking a pair of scissors and snipping the ends off. "Here you go. He wants a part of you to check out what kind of rubber you are Luffy. That way he can see if there's a really good way to fix you."

"Oh…" Luffy said in surprise, "Why didn't he just say so?" Nami sighed, "So Doc, we need to come back tomorrow right?" Nako nodded, "Yes, and try to keep pressure off that hand. Don't use it for anything! If those bone fragments shift around I might never be able to get them back in place."

Nami nodded, "Thank you Dr. Nako, I'll make sure he stays off it. Let's go Luffy."

The two left and Dr. Nako sighed once they were out the door, "Nami's picked a real winner hasn't she?" he asked sarcastically.

The curtain off to the side of the office slid back, revealing a frowning Genzo, "He doesn't seem very bright. I guess that Zoro boy that came grocery shopping with her this morning and that other one must've been the one's primarily behind beating Arlong."

Nako frowned, "But didn't the scary one that attacked Hatchan say that Luffy was the one that sent Hatchan flying? _That_ was Luffy. He must be strong, and those devil fruit powers must be something else." He was quiet for a minute, "Whatever the case, if he was involved in taking down Arlong, we at least owe him help with his hand. How do you suppose he broke it? Rubber isn't supposed to break."

Genzo shook his head, "I don't know, but I intend to find out."

…

…

Meanwhile

…

…

Nami and Luffy walked in uncomfortable silence, neither wanting to address the elephant in the room. Or rather, not in the room. Finally Luffy was the one to break the silence, "Why did he do that?"

Nami flinched slightly and then thought her reply over very carefully, "Well, I think he wanted to help you get stronger. That's what he said anyway, and I don't see any reason for him to lie about that."

Luffy frowned, "But I'm really strong already!"

Nami nodded, already knowing the conversation wasn't going to end well, "Yes Luffy, you're strong. You're probably one of the three strongest men in the East Blue." She took a deep breath, "But Atlas is still stronger than you."

"What?!" Luffy exclaimed, "No he's not! I'm the captain, that means I'm the strongest!" Nami looked at him, "What? No it doesn't! Being the captain means that the crew trusts you to make the right decisions and be a good leader!"

Luffy opened his mouth to argue and then closed it back. He was quiet for a moment and then, "Really? So I don't have to be the strongest to be captain?"

Nami shook her head with a frown, "No! What in the world gave you such a silly idea? Plenty of captains have stronger subordinates, but they're still the captain because they're more experienced and know what they're doing!"

"But that means Atlas should _still_ be the captain instead of me!" Luffy exclaimed, "He's strong and smart and he's been to the Grand Line and knows everything! He's even better at sex than me!"

That took a moment to register with Nami and then horrible realization broke over her, "Luffy, did you just kick Atlas off the crew because you were _jealous_ of him and thought he'd be a better captain than you?"

Luffy nodded without a moment's hesitation, "Yeah! If he stays then there's no way I'd get to stay Captain!" _SLAP!_

"YOU IDIOT!" Nami shrieked, "ATLAS WAS YOUR _QUARTERMASTER! THAT'S LIKE THE SAME THING AS BEING VICE-CAPTAIN! YOU COULD'VE STAYED CAPTAIN AND STILL HAD HIM TO BACK YOU UP ON EVERYTHING AND SHOW YOU HOW TO BE A BETTER CAPTAIN!_ _ **AND WHO THE HELL SAID I LIKE SEX WITH HIM BETTER THAN YOU?! I DIDN'T SPEND TWO WHOLE DAYS WITH**_ _ **HIM**_ __ _ **YOU KNOW! THE ONLY REASON HE OUTLASTED YOU THAT NIGHT IS BECAUSE HE**_ _ **MADE**_ __ _ **YOU PASS OUT WITH HIS POWERS! SO PUT ANY IDEAS ABOUT ME LIKING HIM BETTER OUT OF YOUR HEAD**_ _ **RIGHT NOW!**_ "

Luffy stared at her for a moment and then, "Wait, so Atlas could be stronger and smarter and better at being a pirate than me and I could've stayed Captain anyway? And you like me better than him?"

Nami groaned and put her face in her hands, "Yes Luffy, Atlas being your Quartermaster is like Zoro being your First Mate. They pick up whatever slack there is in your captaincy and help you be the best captain you can be. The reason Atlas kicked your ass like that is because he wanted to show you that there are people stronger than you who you need to be strong enough to fight! Didn't you pay any attention to what he was saying at all?"

Luffy bit his lip and admitted, "Not really…" Nami went to reprimand him and then something clicked in her head as she looked at him and she smiled, "Well there's the solution to _one_ problem right there."

Luffy perked up immediately, "What is it?" "When Atlas was fighting you, you tried to activate your second gear, but he stopped you right?" Nami reminded him. Luffy frowned and nodded and rubbed his nose, "Yeah. That really hurt."

"What he told you when he did that," Nami said, "Was that you were being too obvious about activating your second gear. Raising your hand to your mouth and telling him what you were about to do was what let him stop you because all he had to do was keep you from biting your thumb. Buuut, if you bite say _your lip…_ " She trailed off with a grin and it grew as realization visibly dawned on Luffy.

"Then I could activate my second gear and he wouldn't be able to stop me!" Luffy exclaimed with a big grin, "Nami you're a genius!"

Then something else clicked in his head and he gasped, "We've gotta go find Atlas! I have to apologize! Which way did he go?!"

Nami looked around, trying to figure out which way he might have gone, "Ahhh…wait I know! You remember we told you that Nojiko ate a devil fruit that lets her see a lot? We can get her to help us find him!"

"Then let's go!" Luffy exclaimed before taking off at a run, Nami hot on his heels.

…

…

Five Minutes Later

…

…

Luffy pulled up short as he spotted the tall man in the flower print shirt and shorts talking to Zoro and Nojiko. The tall man turned as Luffy spotted him, "Ah, you must be Luffy and Nami. I have some questions for you."

Luffy's eyes narrowed as every instinct he had screamed at him, "What do you want?"

The tall man raised an eyebrow, "I came to investigate a few rumors." He seemed to teleport and suddenly he was next to Nami, calmly pushing her sleeve up to reveal the Arlong tattoo underneath, "And that's one confirmed there. Am I to assume that you are a member of the Arlong pirates Miss Nami?"

Nami flinched away and exclaimed, "HELL NO! I HATED THAT MONSTER!"

The tall man inclined his head to listen, "I see. May I ask why you are speaking in the past tense?" "I killed him," Luffy answered bluntly, "Now what do you want from Nami?"

The tall man straightened up and looked at Luffy, "I see, so you killed Arlong. All by yourself?" Luffy shook his head, "No, Zoro and Atlas helped." The tall man pursed his lips, "Atlas you say? As in Trueno D. Atlas? I take it you are a friend of his?"

Luffy nodded, "Yes! He's my Quartermaster!" "I see," the tall man said simply. Something spun in his hand and suddenly Luffy's head slammed into the ground with the force of cannon fire, blood already welling from the gash across the top of his head.

The tall man slammed the end of the haki infused piece of bamboo into the back of Luffy's head and effortlessly held him down with it, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Marine Vice-Admiral Vergo of Marine Branch G-5. I have been pulled off my vacation time and tasked with investigating the appearance of the infamous criminal Trueno D. Atlas in these waters. If you are his accomplices, then I will now be taking you into custody."

Zoro was knocked flat and out by the black bamboo before he could react and even as Luffy tried to rise the super toughened bamboo slammed his head back into the ground. He cast a glance at Nami, "Do not try to resist arrest and I will not have to use force. Please place your hands on your head and go ahead of me to my ship. I will be right behind you with these two. Do not be alarmed, if you have committed no crimes and did not know who Atlas was, then after questioning you will be released. Do be warned though," he added as he hefted Zoro and Luffy by the collars, "That I am not an easy man to lie to."

Nojiko could only watch in horror as Nami Zoro and Luffy were taken away. She stretched her powers and suddenly Vergo turned, "Oh. You have that woman's powers? That is alright. You may use them to watch from afar if you like. If your friends are not criminals then they have nothing to fear."

Nojiko went ghostly pale and Vergo nodded slightly, "I see. Young woman, you may say goodbye if you feel it is unlikely that you will return."

Nami ran and hugged Nojiko. Nojiko held her close and looked over her shoulder with tear stained eyes at Vergo, "Please don't take my little sister! She's already suffered so much and they only just saved her from that monster! PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT! JUST DON'T TAKE MY BABY SISTER!"

Vergo thought for a moment and then, "Send Trueno D. Atlas to my ship by nightfall and I will allow your friends and sister to go free. If none of them have bounties I will grant them full clemency for whatever associations they might have had and forget I saw you all. If you do not, or he does not come, then I will question them and if appropriate, take them into custody. Now then, Nami was it? Come along. I would hate to have to drag you."

Nami and Nojiko stared at him in tear stricken horror for a moment and then Nami looked at Nojiko, "Find him Nojiko, he'll come. I know he will." All Nojiko could do was nod and try to hold back her screams of impotent rage and sorrow.

…

…

An Hour of Marching Later

…

…

Vergo topped the gangplank of the Navy warship and his eyes widened along with Nami, Luffy and Zoro's as they beheld the sight waiting for them: Every man aboard was dead.

Atlas grinned smugly from a deck chair positioned to face the gangplank, sipping a margarita through a straw next to Rebecca and Mina in swimsuits with identical deck chairs and margaritas. All three of them looked as though they belonged on a sunny beach or poolside sunning among tourists rather than smack dab in the middle of a massacre scene. "Took you long enough," Atlas declared as he set his drink aside, his grin growing.

He rose and tossed his hat in his chair, "Vice Admiral Vergo, you owe quite a bit of blood to my two apprentices." He gestured around to the fallen soldiers around him, "This was a good practice exercise for them, but it doesn't change the fact that you murdered their beloved aunt right in front of them. And now I find that you've taken my crew hostage as well? What a lot of, shall we say _poor life choices_ you've been making recently," He declared with a sadistic and slightly unhinged grin, "How unfortunate for you."

 **AN: And now as promised, reviewer replies!**

 **Voyagers Unite:** _And once again, thank you for your kind words, they never fail to make my day. You're actually partially right about that guess. The original Sherry was for a different One Piece story idea I had that never got off the ground who was going to be an AU gender bent Shiki that was younger and a rival to Luffy rather than Roger. However, that wasn't awesome enough for her, so she demanded a new origin. Now she's got it and Ol' Shiki can only stew in envy of how amazing she is._

 **Avatoa:** _I certainly hope that this chapter answered your question. ;)_


	14. Chapter 14: Atlas Sets Things On Fire

**AN: As with the previous chapter, this one has reviewer replies (as well as my own SBS, yay!) at the end so you don't have to wait for the epic fight scene.**

 **LET'S GET READY TO RRRRRUMBLLLLLLE!**

Chapter 14 – Atlas Sets Things On Fire

…

Vergo tossed Zoro and Luffy aside and drew his bamboo staff, instantly armoring himself black with Haki, "Perhaps. The outcome of our battle will determine which of us is truly unfortunate. I will have your head!"

Atlas seemed to teleport and the collision had the force of a thunderclap as his flat handed strike collided with Vergo's haki hardened staff. Those watching stared in shock, _He blocked Atlas's strike?!_ Atlas grinned, "You're strong, but if that's all you've got, then you're no match for me."

His fingers curled around the staff and his fist rocketed under it, only narrowly missing Vergo's jaw as he leaned back out of the way. Vergo twisted and shot a kick out at Atlas, but Atlas took the opportunity to shove him off balance and down the gangplank rather than let the kick connect.

Vergo back flipped neatly, and it would've been a smooth recovery if Atlas hadn't jumped and thrown a flying side kick into the small of Vergo's back that sent him flying even further. Before Vergo could land, Atlas was on the other side of him, torqueing a massive full bodied punch into Vergo's stomach. The punch knocked Vergo horizontal, then Atlas's pile driver slammed him into the ground.

Vergo recovered almost immediately, spinning up onto his hands and launching a massive swinging kick that Atlas blocked with a Haki coated right arm. The impact was enough to knock Vergo off balance, but once again he was agile as a cat and managed to regain his feet immediately, throwing a second kick off the same leg before using the push back he caught from Atlas's guard to help drive a shot from his bamboo towards Atlas's eye.

He was rewarded with Atlas catching the bamboo in an iron grip with a sadistic grin, "Nice try." _YANK!_ Vergo was yanked into a wicked left jab that he only narrowly managed to dodge, which put him into a perfect position to have Atlas's foot slam into the back of his knee and send him to the ground, where Atlas quickly caught him in a choke hold with his own bamboo staff.

"It's a shame they only sent a mid-tier Vice Admiral," Atlas declared with a grin as he put his foot in Vergo's back and started to choke him, "If it had been someone like Sakazuki or Borsalino, I might've gotten a good workout from this." Vergo struggled to hold the bamboo away from crushing his throat and growled, "You might find me…slightly tougher…than I… _LOOK!"_

He suddenly snapped a kick back into Atlas's shin. It didn't hurt Atlas in the slightest, but it was enough to knock him off balance. Vergo took the opportunity to spin out of his grasp and torque a massive kick into his ribs, slamming him into the ground with enough force to make an Atlas shaped indent in the dirt.

Atlas was more startled than hurt and immediately rolled out of the way as Vergo buried his bamboo staff almost a foot into the dirt where Atlas's head had been a moment earlier. Atlas rolled back to his feet in a position to spring, and spring he did, "Maybe you're right!" He declared as his knee connected to Vergo's face and sent him flying, "But nothing less than a FULL admiral is enough to stop me!"

He suddenly started spinning. Vergo flipped mid air and skidded to a landing upright, spitting blood and looking in frustration at the vortex forming around his opponent. Atlas roared over the sound of the wind gathering around him, " _HELLFIRE DYNAMO!"_ He suddenly cranked up the speed of his rotation and a small tornado formed around him.

Vergo watched and wondered if he should try to stop whatever Atlas was doing, or if he even could. Then lights started flickering from the center of the cyclone and he knew he should have at least tried. Then a foot wreathed in Haki and flames slammed into him and sent him flying as Atlas barked, "HELLFIRE!"

Vergo crashed through a few trees and then Atlas was behind him with a hand shrouded in lightning, "AND HEAVEN'S FURY!" Atlas's punch connected to Vergo's forehead with the sound of a thunder clap and sent the vice-admiral spinning through the next three trees.

Atlas stormed after him and was rewarded for his diligence with the sight of Vergo picking himself up and uprooting a small tree. Vergo threw the tree. Atlas caught the tree and crushed it to splinters with his haki. He was then blasted skidding backwards by a blade of pure force as Vergo's Tempest Kick connected.

Atlas grinned and began storming forward again, completely unscathed as his blazing foot prints and the arcs of lightning splitting off his hands setting fire to the brush as he advanced. Vergo grimaced and armored his entire body black with Haki. Then he launched forward at near invisible speed. He attempted to land a flying side kick, and Atlas deflected it with ease. He spun midair and attempted an axe kick. Atlas caught it on his forearm and cranked up the voltage, sending Vergo reeling as the electricity broke through his haki.

Atlas didn't let him recover, stepping forward and driving a fist wrapped in blindingly bright lightning down onto the base of Vergo's skull with the intent to fry his brainstem. Vergo's Haki held, narrowly. Atlas kicked him in the ribs as he hit the ground and sent him rolling.

Vergo went with the roll and managed to gain a little distance before rolling back to his feet, just in time to catch a lightning haki infused rock with the size and speed of a cannonball to the face. "A little trick I picked up from Byrnndi World," Atlas declared with a grin as he bounced a handful of pebbles in his hand, "More-more… _Hundred-fold Shotgun!"_

Vergo had just enough time to register what Atlas had said, then his stomach felt like it was full of burning lances of fire. He went to his knees clutching his stomach and glared up at Atlas as Atlas strode closer.

"Don't die just yet," Atlas told him with a sadistic grin, "Thanks to you and yours, my adorable little apprentice spent the last fifteen years of her life in a living hell. You like justice right Mr. Marine? Oh wait, you're a mole for Doflamingo aren't you? How silly of me to forget. So, since you're a villain through and through, it's only right that I ensure justice is delivered to you. I'm feeling a little _eye for an eye!_ "

Vergo had just enough time to realize something felt wrong with his back and then his entire body went limp. The lightning around Atlas's hands went out as he showed Vergo something, "This is the motor neuron half of your fourth thoraic vertebrae. I just yanked it out with my powers. Now that I've removed it, you will die a very slow torturous death indeed as your body's internal organs below the heart and lungs slowly die while you feel _every little thing._ I can't toss you into Impel Down from here, but I think this is an adequate substitute don't you?"

Vergo didn't answer and Atlas smirked wickedly, "Well then, see you in Hell, oh wait, you're already there." Then he turned and walked away, leaving the treacherous vice admiral to his demise. Then right before he exited the clearing, he paused and glanced over his shoulder, "One more thing. You have my apologies, you were a top tier Vice Admiral combatant after all. Allow me to grant you a small mercy as an apology…"

He swiped his hand across his body and created a massive gust of wind that caught the flames in the underbrush and fanned them into an inferno, "Now you have an ample chance to get lucky and burn to death!" he called over the roar of the flames as he proceeded on along his way, "It'll be quicker that way!"

…

…

Meanwhile

…

…

Zoro poked one of the dead marines, "Sooo…which one of you did this?" Rebecca rubbed her head in slight embarrassment, "Ah, I think that one was me. Most of the stab wounds are me, although the ones with the organs splattered everywhere are Atlas sensei, and the ones that are sliced clean in half or barbecued are all Mina."

Zoro looked at the bodies strewn about the area, their poses and wounds telling him the tale of their deaths. He looked at Rebecca with no small amount of respect, "I think you and I are going to get along."

Rebecca blushed as pink as her hair, "Um, what makes you say that?" Zoro jerked a thumb at the bodies, "You took down half a dozen armed men with three moves and without actually having to move more than four feet from where you started. I knew Atlas said you were good, but I can fully believe him now."

Rebecca's blush intensified and she tried to remember that particular moment of the battle. She smiled slightly and couldn't meet Zoro's gaze as she realized he was right. Then she realized that she was grinning about being a skilled killer and the grin turned to a grimace.

Meanwhile Mina, Luffy and Nami were watching the fire works as Atlas and Vergo went at it. They couldn't see much once Atlas and Vergo moved into the woods, but they could hear the trees crashing and see the fires burning.

"Do you think Atlas will be alright?" Nami asked as she watched the blazing lights that marked Atlas's location go skidding backwards in front of a massive wave of force that felled several trees.

"Oh yeah," Luffy declared nonchalantly, "That's not nearly enough to stop him." Atlas started moving forward again and his hands snapped up to block a blow they couldn't see. The impact created such a wind that it ruffled their hair all the way back on the ship deck. There was another massive impact a moment later which didn't even budge Atlas's lightning wrapped hand. Then the lightning flared and flashed as Atlas threw what had to be a vicious punch.

There was a _thwoomp_ sound that Nami could only guess to be a massive impact landing. Then Atlas threw something, which became a streak of light a foot from his hand. It crashed into something Nami couldn't see and flew off course. Then Atlas threw again and a flurry of what looked like laser beams flew forward, winking out for just an instant before continuing on.

Then everything was still. A few moments later, Atlas started back towards them, pausing only to fan the flames that had spread to much of the underbrush over the course of the fight into a massive blaze. He strode out of the smoke and flames unscathed and walked back to the ship, "Well," he called, "Shall we go now? Rebecca and Mina already helped me loot the ship, and I think I can hear the sound of Nojiko panicking!"

Nami suddenly remembered that Nojiko was probably searching frantically for Atlas and quickly grabbed Luffy and the others to commence towing them home.

…

…

That Night

…

…

Vergo twitched. The fire hadn't killed him, and while he still couldn't move anything but his face, he was pretty sure he was still in the position of dying, not dead. He scrunched his eyes a little more shut before opening them and beheld a figure looming over him. He frowned and tried to make the figure out. "Oh good you're awake," the figure said, and Vergo's blood ran cold as he recognized the voice.

"So," Admiral Aokiji said in a calm cheery voice, "Wanna talk about what _I_ just found out, _pirate?_ "

Vergo wished very much that the flames had succeeded in killing him and measured his next words carefully, all too aware that they'd probably be his last. He took as deep a breath as he could muster and wheezed, "Regardless of my allegiances…as a marine admiral, is it not your duty to apprehend Trueno D. _grrrk!"_

Aokiji hefted Vergo by the throat with one hand and hissed, " _Don't. You. DARE. Talk to ME about my DUTY. I've given up everything for the sake of my duty to protect this world. Every last ounce of happiness I had, I FLUSHED in the name of justice. So DON'T. YOU. DARE. Speak to me about duty or justice!"_

Aokiji threw Vergo back to the ground with enough force to rattle Vergo's brains. "The only question now," Aokiji snarled, "Is what to do with your miserable hide. I think I'll leave you here to suffer some more while I go think about it."

Vergo grimaced as Aokiji stormed off, _Well…that could have gone better…_

 **...**

 **AN: And now, reviewer replies!**

 **Voyagers Unite:** _Well, that's about as slow and torturous a death as I could come up with off the top of my head. Satisfied?_

...

 **SBS Time!**

 **...**

 **Q: Since all the canon Strawhats have a color that's associated with them, what's Atlas's color?**

 **A: Silver**

 _(these next 2 are from 22darthvadrulesall)_

 **Q: What are Atlas's weaknesses?**

 **A: He's still human, he's just insanely tough. He still CAN be burned, or frozen, or poisoned, or electrocuted or drowned, any of the things that would kill a normal human can still kill him, it's just hitting him with enough of it to affect him. Example Kuzan could freeze him, Sakazuki or Ace could probably burn him, Eneru could electrocute him to death (if they could get through Atlas's haki), and someone with sufficiently titanic strength could beat him just like anyone else (example: Garp). He's a completely normal human (aside from the devil fruit) except a few thousand times sturdier and stronger. So for example where it takes 520 pounds to crush a normal human skull, it would take over 345,000 to crush his.**  
 **Also a Haki coating can prevent Atlas from affecting the coated area with his Devil Fruit powers, and of course he gets all the weaknesses that go with being a devil fruit eater (no swimming, loses motor control in water, and sea stone is bad). He's not invincible, he's just unbelievably tough.**

 **Q: How strong is Atlas?**

 **A: Among the 25 most powerful people in the world, Atlas is #21. As for physical strength, if Fukurou of CP9 were to measure his power level, Atlas would clock in at 6666.66 as opposed to Rob Lucci's 4000. Atlas is REALLY strong.**

 **...**

 **SBS is open for questions!**

 **Til next time, Ghost out! :D**


	15. Chapter 15: Drinking Games 2

**AN: Happy birthday to me two days early! (My birthday is August 2nd for those wondering)**

 **And now, reviewer replies!**

 **Voyagers Unite:** _Glad you enjoyed, I don't much like Vergo either. As to Rebecca, she didn't out and out kill them. It was sort of like her Back to the Water Dance, but when you're surrounded by guys trying to kill you, simply deflecting them into the other guys is plenty lethal. Mina on the other hand has no problem with it. They've both been living very violent turbulent lives ever since escaping Dressrosa, which was right after Mina was born, so they're rather more accustomed to the idea of hurting people than Rebecca was in canon, and Scarlett had much less influence on them than in canon due to the early separation._

 **Guest:** _Glad you're enjoying, here you go!_

 **NOW LET'S GET ROCKIN!**

 **Chapter 15 – Drinking Games 2**

…

Later

…

"So," Zoro declared with a grin, "Never have I ever…" he thought for a moment, "masterminded a heist!"

Nami and Luffy shot him identical flat looks, "Cheap shot jackass." Then all three plus Nojiko stared as Mina and Rebecca's glasses hit the table in unison.

"You two have pulled off a heist before?!" Nami exclaimed, "How much?!" "Details, details!" Nojiko demanded eagerly.

Rebecca scratched the side of her face with a grin, "Weeell…it was a few years back. We were pretty hard up for money and we had decided to come out to East Blue to hide for a while."

"It was super cool," Mina declared with a broad smile, "Aunt Viola used her devil fruit powers to see where all the guards were and then I used my powers to make distractions while Rebecca went and broke open the safe! Then when one guard heard the safe door fall and hit the ground, I electrocuted him!" She raised her hand and sparks started playing around on the thin shimmering strands of wire coiling out of her palms, "And ever since then they've been calling me Live Wire!" Then she whipped out a wanted poster, "See?"

Everyone except Rebecca gawked at it. " _Forty-two million beris?!"_ Nami exclaimed. Mina grinned, "Yep! Aunt Viola was worth sixty, but she was waaay sneakier, so I don't mind!"

Zoro looked at Rebecca, "What about you? Do you have one?" Rebecca shook her head with a rueful grimace, "No. I was trapped in the form of a doll at the time, so everyone assumed I was just an inanimate toy Mina operated with her powers. I was kind of our secret weapon. What about you?" she shot back with a grin, "Have _you_ got a bounty?"

Zoro shook his head, "No. I was a bounty _hunter_ until a few weeks ago when Luffy recruited me." Mina leaned in, "Alright, so what's the highest bounty you've ever _taken?"_

Zoro laughed, "Oh that's easy. There was this pack of losers called the Trump Siblings about two years ago. The five leaders each had their own bounties, none of them were very high but altogether they totaled up to thirty eight and a half million. When I threw in their fleet, it was closer to a hundred million."

The girls all _ooh-_ ed and Zoro felt his ego puff up a bit as even Luffy got stars in his eyes and demanded to hear the story.

Zoro rubbed his head and cast his mind back, "Well…it all started about two years ago. I was with my old buddies Johnny and Yosaku. We were at this pub and then this guy, his girlfriend and his kid brother come in and say they're looking for Roronoa Zoro and friends. Well of course, I asked what they wanted. So they come sit down and our table and tell me they want to take down this pack of pirates called the Trump Siblings. They showed us the bounty posters and we decided it sounded like a good idea."

"They were holed up on this massive tower of an island, not the weirdest thing I've ever seen, but it's on up there on the list," Zoro explained, "I thought there was no way we'd be able to get up there, but the guy that had come to find us was insanely good at manipulating the rigging on the boat we were using," Zoro smiled at the memory, "I couldn't believe it, but somehow he managed to make the boat _fly_. He got us all the way up to the top of it and when we landed we snuck our way through the town up to the base of the fortress at the top and started fighting our way up. That guy and his girlfriend and kid brother thought we were crazy, but I told Johnny and Yosaku to take care of them and make sure nobody got past me, and then I just waded in."

"They were all chumps," Zoro declared nonchalantly, "All except for their five officers. There was this fat guy who rolled up and had a spiked cloak that he rolled around in like a big spiky ball. I just skewered him and kept going. The girl, Amy, she was going by Honey Queen at the time, wound up sweet talking Johnny and Yosaku into letting her join their bounty hunting team after the fact, but she has a devil fruit that lets her turn into and generate as much of this weird oily gel as she wanted. She figured out pretty quick that she couldn't do anything but annoy me, so she ran away as fast as she could and the girl with the three that recruited us caught her in a jar. Then there was this one weirdo that looked like a flying rat, he had this really ugly jetpack that spewed this rancid knockout gas. I took the sword from one of the guys attacking me and threw it, knocked that ugly weirdo right out of the air."

He paused to take a drink and continued, "Then there was another weird one in a cape, he tried to beat me with a poison sword and darts, but I sliced him up in one strike and kept moving. By then their boss had come down. He was this really big guy that went by "Bear King". He _so_ did not live up to the name of bear. He was big, but he had these scrawny little arms and legs, he looked more like a bloated beaver to me," Zoro declared with a grin as he waved his hands next to his shoulders with his arms tucked close to his sides to show how tiny Bear King's arms had been.

"He had a devil fruit too," Zoro continued, "It let him turn his body really hard, kinda like what Atlas does with his Haki except not as strong. He had a really obvious tell because whatever part of his body he hardened would start to glow red. Once I figured that out, I just stabbed him in the eye when he went to punch me and that was the end of it. He seemed really mad that their ace in the hole had left them, seemed to think that that Ace guy could've beaten me easily." Luffy froze and Zoro frowned, "What?"

"Did you say Ace?" Luffy asked in a tone Zoro wasn't sure he liked, but he nodded anyway, "Yeah, they all had a playing card motif going. Their leader Bear King, the girl Honey Queen, that guy with the darts was Pin Joker, the fat guy was Boo Jack and that ugly flying weirdo was Skunk One, I guess he was supposed to be their new ace. Pretty sorry excuse for an ace. Why? Did you know that Ace guy?"

Luffy's expression cleared, "Oh! Well if that weak bear guy was the leader then it definitely wasn't Ace. Ace would never follow someone weaker than he was." Zoro frowned, "Eh?"

"My big brother," Luffy explained, "His name is Ace, but if you were able to beat their captain that easily, then there's no way Ace would've worked for them. Ace is _super_ strong, and he's a nice guy, so there's no way it was him that bear guy was talking about."

Zoro nodded, "Ah. Well, anyway, that's how I took nearly a hundred million beri bounty by myself. If Amy hadn't begged Johnny and Yosaku into letting her go and join them, it would've been closer to a hundred and twenty."

Atlas grinned as he appeared out of nowhere in a chair opposite Zoro cradling a mug of ale, "Oh my, are we having a bounty measuring contest? Who wants to try guessing mine?"

The attention of everyone at the table was immediately on him and Rebecca led with, "Five hundred million!" Atlas waggled his head with a grin and a non-committal gesture, "Keep guess~iiing…"

"Nah, that's probably way too high," Zoro declared, "The highest bounty the East Blue's ever seen was Woonan with sixty million. Even if the Grand Line is that much insanely stronger, surely it's not higher than two, maybe, _maybe_ three hundred million." Rebecca and Mina actually laughed and Zoro deflated.

"A billion!" Luffy declared with a confident grin, dispelling Zoro's irritation at being laughed at and replacing it with incredulity. "Luffy," Nami scolded, "There's no way Atlas has a bounty that high! That's everything we got from that bank at High Town and then some! Surely there's nobody with a bounty _that_ high!"

Rebecca and Mina tilted their heads and started thinking about it before starting to grin at each other in a way that clearly meant "should we tell them?" and Nami started to get a sinking feeling in her gut.

Atlas chuckled, "As it happens, Zoro was close to my _second_ bounty. My first bounty, right after I got on the World Government's radar, was eighty million." Nami, Nojiko and Zoro's jaws dropped while Luffy became starry eyed and Rebecca and Mina nodded knowingly. "My second bounty," Atlas continued, "After a very great number of hijinks on the wrong side of the law, was raised to over four times that: three hundred and twenty one million. No idea how they arrived at such a weird number, but they did."

"Then," Atlas continued with a grin as he pulled a rolled up sheet of paper from inside his coat, "Came my third and most recent bounty. This was only put out a week ago." He unfurled it and every jaw at the table dropped as they took in the number.

...

==Meanwhile==

...

Boa Hancock offered Jinbe a cup of tea with a smile, "I had no idea you were a member of Fisher Tiger's crew Jinbe-san."

The two were aboard the Kuja's ship resting and recovering from the fiercest fight either of them had had in quite a while. Jinbe had only recently woken up from having slept for almost two weeks waking only briefly and being not terribly coherent when he did. Now fully awake, Jinbe accepted the cup with a smile, "Yes, Brother Ti was a hero to my people. I'm surprised you know about him."

Hancock froze and immediately averted her gaze, a small blush rising to her face, "Well, he _is_ a hero. Slavers have long been a blight on my people as I hear they have yours. His actions against the World Nobles earned him a permanent spot in the hearts of my people."

Jinbe growled, "Slavers are a blight on this _world_ period." Hancock nodded firmly, "Definitely. Those vile beasts," she growled as her grip tightened, "I can't stand men because of monsters like them."

Jinbe frowned, "I understand how you feel, but among fishmen there is a belief that if we give in to hate against an entire people because a few have harmed us, then we are no better than they are. That is the belief spread by the late Queen Otohime, and her wisdom has touched the hearts of many on fishman island. Of course, I'll still crush any slavers I can find, she didn't say anything about not seeking justice."

Hancock was quiet for a few moments and then, "She sounds like a very wise and kind woman. I am sorry I never got to meet her. Are all merfolk and fishmen so kind?"

"Not all," Jinbe replied sadly, "But many. Just as there is both good and bad in the world above, so too is there on Fishman Island. Even among the Sun Pirates, there were those who could not overcome their hatred and gave into wickedness. One was Arlong, and he took many of our number with him after Brother Ti's death."

Jinbe sighed, "When I was made a warlord, they released Arlong from prison. I have worried ever since that I might've made the wrong decision in freeing him, but I could not leave him imprisoned." He exhaled and looked into his reflection in the tea, "I can only hope that he overcame some of the darkness inside him in the time since I've last seen him. I haven't heard any reports about him stirring up trouble in the East Blue, so I suppose I shouldn't worry so much, but I have this bad feeling in my gut that he's been up to something horrible out there, and I don't know that there's anyone in the East Blue strong enough to stop him."

"So why don't you go check on him?" Hancock asked with honest confusion, "Surely you are stronger than he is. I fought alongside you back there, I know you are as strong as I am."

Jinbe laughed, "Oh I am _definitely_ stronger, Arlong doesn't even know how to use Haki. His form is terrible and he's totally at the mercy of his emotions! He's easily riled up and can't think when he's angry, his defenses utterly crumble!" He exhaled and sobered up, "I suppose, I'm afraid of what I'll find. I don't _want_ to find out that he's been doing horrible things, I'd like to think that my old friend grew out of that dark place and became a good man," he explained, "But at the same time, I saw how much darkness was in his heart, and a part of me knows that he'll never be free of that darkness."

The two warlords lapsed into silence and then Hancock pursed her lips, "Jinbe-san, something I've been wondering about. That man we fought, did you recognize his fighting style? It was like nothing I've ever seen before."

Jinbe thought for a moment and then his brow furrowed and his frown deepened, "I have seen something similar, but on a much more titanic scale. I trust you know of the Yonko Whitebeard?"

Hancock froze, "That man? You think they're related?"

Jinbe shook his head, "No, Whitebeard is actually a friend of mine and a guardian and friend to my people as a whole. I had never seen that man before, but his power bore a resemblance to a weaker version of the old man's Tremor-Tremor Fruit. I'd suspect it of having been a weaker but similar devil fruit, but he expressed no fear of sea water or sea stone." He frowned as he raised his cup to his lips, "I have heard of a martial art that can produce similar effects known as Hasshoken, but I do not think that man was related to the Happo Navy, he didn't have a weird enough head."

Hancock tilted her head, "Weird head?" Jinbe nodded, "The strongest practitioner of Hasshoken was the leader of the Happo Navy, Don Chinjao. He had a massive pointed head that could supposedly split continents with a headbutt." He grimaced, "I hear tell that Monkey D. Garp smacked it flat in a single punch."

Hancock winced and then shivered as the imagery sunk in, "Ow…"

Jinbe chuckled, "Ow indeed! I hear it quite broke Chinjao's pride as well, but back to the matter at hand, that man's fighting style also bore some similarities to my own Fishman Karate. Perhaps he's formed some sort of hybrid martial art?" he mused.

"Whatever the case," Hancock replied as she rubbed her shoulder through the sling, "He was quite a terrible force to be reckoned with." Then a thought struck her, "Do you think humans can learn Fishman Karate?"

Jinbe smiled, "I know they can! My old friend Hack has many human students! I don't hear from him often, but in his last letter he was overjoyed at the progress of one of his star pupils, a little girl who I actually met once when she was just a child. I'm incredibly pleased that she was able to grow up and learn Fishman Karate well enough to be Hack's assistant instructor!"

"After we heal up, do you think you could teach me?" Hancock asked with her cutest, most winning smile.

Jinbe blinked and then smiled, "I would be honored to try Snake Princess! I would be honored to try!"

...

==Meanwhile==

...

"You want me to _what?"_ Fleet Admiral Zephyr asked incredulously, certain that he had misheard.

"I know this is a large request Sir," Aokiji replied over the snail with a lethally serious expression, "But I beg of you, if you have ever had the slightest faith in my judgment, please trust me in this. We need a _massive_ force to comb the East Blue and stop the pirate Straw Hat Luffy before he can rise to power. We have to crush any associates he has and wipe him and his crew out _now_. Once they begin their climb, they may well be unstoppable. If we can stop them before they enter the Grand Line, then we may be able to catch them badly off guard and crush them with the element of surprise."

Zephyr sat back and crossed his arms, "Give me some details. What you're requesting will require some evidence."

"I can give you one name that will convince you beyond any shadow of a doubt," Aokiji replied.

Zephyr stiffened, "Go on."

"Trueno, _D._ **_Atlas._** _"_ Aokiji declared, careful to enunciate every word for emphasis and to make sure there was no mistake.

The blood drained from Zephyr's face and all the hair on his arms stood on end, "You'll have your army Aokiji. Stop them at any cost."

Aokiji smiled smugly, "Sir yes sir."

...

==With the Strawhats==

...

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET A BOUNTY LIKE THAT?!" Nami exclaimed in horror.

"Pfft, my guess was still higher," Luffy declared dismissively.

"You do realize that's as much as what we got from the bank heist right?" Zoro asked.

Atlas grinned, "Oh nothing much, just punched out three vice-admirals, two warlords and a fleet of marines."

Mina leaned over to Rebecca, "Hey sis, we picked a freaking _awesome_ teacher…" "I know right?" Rebecca replied in awe as she took in the bounty poster for Trueno D. Atlas that declared him worth 600,000,000 beris.


	16. Chapter 16: Hero

**AN:** _Heeey everybody! Sorry for the long wait, hit a roadblock and wasn't sure where to go next with this after that last chapter. I got over it._

 _..._

 _And now, Reviewer Replies!_

 _..._

 _ **Voyagers Unite:**_ _Well I am certainly glad you enjoyed! Yes Zoro is a bit chattier than in the majority of canon, but remember he used to be chattier before throwing down with Mihawk at the Baratie. As for Zephyr, can't claim him, not my character. Go check out One Piece Film Z. Same guy._

 _And yeah, here comes the plot twist that just might break your brain._

 _..._

 _And now, without further ado..._

 _(announcer voice) Ladies and gentlemen, readers of all ages, ARE YOU READY... for some UUUUUUUUSOOOOOOOOOOOPP?!_

...

...

...

 **Chapter 16 – Hero**

==Meanwhile==

Usopp tried to go to sleep, but couldn't. He was too excited. Tomorrow was the day. He gave up on lying in bed and rechecked all his pouches. He fired a few rounds, checked over the Clima-Tact he had made as best he could form memory and the parts he could lay hands on. He tried to lay back down and sleep.

He rolled around and couldn't even begin to wipe off the grin that went from one ear to the other. He grabbed his weights and pumped them for ages, but he'd been training relentlessly ever since he had remembered six months earlier, so even if he went for hours curling the fifty kilogram weights he'd worked his way up to being comfortable with (the biggest ones he could make with the materials available), he'd still never get tired in time for it to be worth anything.

He decided to go out for a run, see if maybe that would tire him out. He lapped the island five times in an hour and found himself at the shore where he knew they would land. Deciding it was better to just wait there for them, he found a comfortable rock and stretched out. That way even if he was somehow asleep when they arrived, he wouldn't miss them.

Eventually he managed to fall asleep from just sheer tiredness. His excitement had kept him awake for three days now after all.

Usopp awoke as soon as dawn's light hit him. He sat bolt upright and began rocking around in a circle giggling excitedly, "Today's the day! It's finally here! I can't wait!"

==Twelve Hours Later==

Usopp stared desperately at the horizon as the sun set far off in the west, _No no no! They were supposed to be here!_ He started pacing as he racked his brains, _Maybe they got held up? Maybe they're going in a different order? If they remember Arlong then they'd almost certainly go after him immediately…Kuro was nowhere near as bad and even just Luffy or Zoro would be able to handle Arlong…if Nami managed to replicate her Clima-tact then she'd be able to do it herself… Maybe I got the day wrong?_

His head snapped up, "Yeah! That's it! I got the day wrong! They'll be here tomorrow!"

"CAPTAAAAAAAIN!"

Usopp's head snapped up as he heard the Usopp Pirates howling for him in unison. He quickly bounced up the cliff, surefooted and swift as a mountain goat, "Hey guys, what's up?"

They all began trying to explain at once and Usopp raised a hand, "Hold on, one at a time, one at a time. Ninjin. What's going on?"

"There was a pirate ship off the north shore and some weird backwards walking man came ashore! We've been trying to find you all day!"

Usopp felt his blood run cold. He hadn't gotten the day wrong. He hadn't gotten the day wrong at all. Either they were late, or they weren't coming.

…

…

…

Usopp was deathly still for a moment and then he knelt down and laid a hand on Carrot's shoulder, and another on Onions. If he'd had a third he would have placed it on Pepper's, "Men, I need you to listen to me very closely. This is the most important mission the Usopp Pirates ever have and ever will undertake."

The three boys looked at him in shock and Usopp knew it was because of the unprecedented seriousness in his voice. "That backwards walking man was the infamous pirate One Two Jango, acting captain of the infamous Black Cat Pirates," Usopp said in absolute seriousness, "If he's here, then it means that tomorrow, his crew is going to storm the island, probably at the crack of dawn when I usually run through shouting that pirates are coming. I've shouted that so many times that nobody will believe it, from me or anyone else until the pirates are entering the town. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

The three nodded slowly, their eyes wide in horrified shock. Usopp nodded, "Good. I will do everything in my power to keep the pirates at bay and stop them from reaching the town. I know you're worried, but I can bottleneck them at the shore and snipe them from the trees all the way to town. I'll do everything I can, but once the explosions start, I need you three to get to Kaya. I know you may think that it's selfish for me to ask you to protect her, but hear me out. The mansion she lives in is loaded with valuables, which means the pirates will go straight to it to ransack it. You have to get her out of there before they arrive. Lie if you have to, tell her I'm hurt, tell her it's a game, tell her anything you have to, but _make sure she is not in that mansion._ I'll send up a flare when they come ashore, that'll be your cue to get to Kaya and get her out. Once she's out of the mansion, start warning everyone."

"One more thing," he added, "Watch out for the butler Klahadore. Something smells very fishy about him, and not just that he's a pompous jerk. Don't let him see you getting Kaya out. If I'm wrong and he's alright, then he won't be able to tell the pirates anything even if they try to torture him for Kaya's location. If I'm right, then he may be more dangerous than any of them."

He looked each of them in the eye, "This is not a lie. This is not a prank. This is for real. I would trust each of you with my life, so please, prove I'm right to trust you tomorrow and no matter what happens to me, you have to protect Kaya and the villagers okay?"

Onion was the one who broke the silence, "Are you crazy?! You can't fight an entire pirate crew alone!"

Usopp smiled, "Maybe not, but where's your faith in the great Captain Usopp? Trust me men, I'll do my part. Please have faith in me, because I'm counting on you to do yours. Who knows? Maybe some heroes will show up at the last minute."

…

…

…

Usopp did good, he managed to keep his cool all the way through walking the boys home and back to his cabin. It wasn't until after he closed and locked the door that he let his fear show, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he screamed in terror as he clapped his hands to the side of his head.

 _I can't fight an entire pirate crew by myself! I'm not Zoro or Luffy or Sanji!_ He thought in terror as his knees knocked too fiercely for him to even curl up into a frightened little ball like he wanted to as he realized that he was about to have to face down one of the most terrifying days of his life without back up.

 _I can't handle this by myself! They'll destroy the village! They'll hurt my friends! What if they get Kaya?! Kuro'll kill her for sure!_ Usopp's frightened thoughts raced through his mind a mile a minute seemingly on a loop as the nightmarish images his imagination conjured threatened to overwhelm him.

Then another voice broke through the fear, _What are you talking about? Get on._ Usopp's heart skipped a beat. The images of his friends washed through his mind like a raging torrent and then Usopp stood up a little straighter. He raised his hand and curled it into a fist as a grin spread across his face.

 _Yes I can._

…

…

…

Jango grinned over his shoulder as the last of his crew dropped to the shore, silent in the predawn glow except for the splashes their feet made in the surf like good cats. "Ready men? Remember, keep to the plan! No side stops, the instant the sun comes over that horizon we need to be at the village and starting the attack! No mercy today," he ordered before thrusting his fist in to the air, "Take what you can!"

"GIVE NOTHING BACK!" The Black Cat Pirates cheered.

Then the beach was awash in a red glow. Jango turned and frowned in confusion as the red flare shot into the sky. Then the tops of the cliffs that lined the beach burst into flames with an almighty whoosh. The Black Cat Pirates flinched back in surprise and then a massive voice boomed down at them, "BLACK CAT PIRATES. RETURN TO YOUR SHIP AND LEAVE THIS ISLAND AT ONCE, OR PREPARE TO BE DESTROYED."

Jango saw his men begin to cower and wanted to cower himself. If it hadn't been for Kuro's wrath waiting in the wings, Jango would have taken his pirates and fled. Instead, he raised his voice and shouted back, "YOU DON'T SCARE US!"

The Black Cat Pirates began to cheer and felt their confidence begin to grow again, then Jango jerked. Jango was stock still for just an instant, then he slumped bonelessly to the ground, a massive welt blooming between his eyes. Then the voice boomed, "HAVE IT YOUR WAY. USOPP SPECIAL ATTACK… ** _METEOR SHOWEEEEER!_** "

An instant later there was a massive BOOM and a dozen projectiles that the Black Cat Pirates realized too late were cannonballs arced up high, high into the sky. They crashed down onto the Bezan Black, setting its sails ablaze in an instant and threatening to bring the mast down as they exploded in a concerted blaze of destruction. Before the Black Cats could rush back onto their ship and try to douse the flames, they started dropping like flies. In an instant, three of them dropped. Then three more. The Black Cats began to scramble for cover and quickly got the idea to begin using their fallen crewmates for meat shields. They then began to advance up the slope as the hidden snipers stopped firing at their meat shields.

Then the ground exploded beneath them and sent the first two dozen tumbling back down the slope with their fallen comrades. Then before they could pick themselves up, another explosion erupted from the top of the slope. A shadow crossed over the sun and they looked up in time to see a caped figure in the air above them.

The caped figure seemed to float for a second before shouting, "USOOOOOOOPP…TWENTY THOUSAND POOOUND HAAAAAMMEEEEER!" Then he landed and the pirate he landed on seemed to crumple like a tin can as the massive hammer connected to his skull. The caped figure spun the huge hammer over his head and dove into the nearest pirates, swinging fiercely and battering down foes like grass before a scythe. Then the head broke off his hammer and the mysterious masked figure whipped out a slingshot as he sprang back, "Special attack…FIREBIRD STAR!"

A massive bird made of flames erupted forth and felled half a dozen pirates in a blaze of glory. Then two odd forms leapt from the burning ship and began to race towards the yellow masked figure with the long nose in a pincer movement. The caped warrior drew a fresh weapon from beneath his cape and fastened it to the end of his slingshot, forming a long staff, "Ultimate weapon…" he breathed, "CARNAGE KABUTOOO!" he roared as he caught one cat like pirate's razor sharp claws in the Y of his slingshot and hurled him into the larger one trying to blindside him.

The smaller cat like fighter landed on the larger one's stomach and then shouted in surprise and pain as the masked fighter thrust upward with his slingshot, opening a deep cut on the cat like fighter's cheek before pulling back, twisting the blade edged slingshot and using it to grab him by the throat and fling him aside. Then the other end of the odd staff like weapon was revealed as it came up and slammed into the largest Black Cat Pirate's jaw like a meteor strike. Buchi's jaw shattered under the tremendous impact of the heavy hammer head and Buchi fell to the ground soundly unconscious. Before Sham could recover from being slammed into the ground, the hammer came down on him as well. With the crack of shattering ribs, the Meowban Brothers were out of commission.

It was then that Usopp took a second to catch his breath and looked around. Not a single pirate was stirring, and aside from the crackle of the flames, the crash of the waves on the sand, and his own breathing, the battlefield was completely silent.

Usopp looked around warily and then he set his Carnage Kabuto on his shoulder and took off his mask before thrusting it to the sky in his fist with a grin as he shouted triumphantly, "SNIPER KING IS BACK BABY!"

Then there was a strangely powerful _whoosh_ of wind and Usopp's jaw dropped as he saw the entire village standing on the cliff tops staring at him.

Silence reigned for several minutes and then the cheering started.

==Later==

Usopp was on a cloud of happiness. Kaya had rushed down with the entire village when they heard that he was intending to fight the pirates by himself. According to the Usopp Pirates, nobody had believed them until the volley of cannon fire sounded off like thunder. When that happened and people saw the smoke rising, they believed it and ran to help the village liar.

Usopp couldn't have been more proud of himself as he explained how he had managed to stop the pirates and showed off his latest invention, the Usopp Meteor Storm, a twelve barreled cannon designed to be able to equal a small battleship even if there were only a single gunner. The Black Cat Pirates had been disarmed and all tied up as the Marines were called.

Now he sat in the town restaurant. He'd been informed it was on the house and the rest of the village had stepped outside to give him and Kaya some privacy. Usopp couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as Kaya gushed over how awesome he was and looked happier and healthier than she had since her parents had died.

Then, just as he was telling her about the amazing crew he had been a part of and how he really had met a talking reindeer with a blue nose and a pink hat, a shadow fell over the table. "Sniper King Usopp," the voice declared coldly.

Usopp felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and then the bad feeling was proven right as he heard the sound of a dozen guns being cocked to fire. Usopp wasn't wrong to guess that every last one of them was aimed at him. He looked up at the Marine, whose coat and bars of rank indicated he was a Captain glaring down at him coldly, "C-c-can I help you?"

The Marine Captain held up a bounty poster, a poster that shouldn't even have existed yet and Usopp's blood _froze_ , "You're under arrest for crimes against the World Government including piracy, theft, vandalism, burning a World Government Flag, resisting arrest, aiding and abetting criminal ele- _MENTS!"_

In a blur of motion almost too fast to see, the Marine Captain and his entire troop were launched out the door. Usopp's eyes nearly popped clear out of his head as a familiar smell washed over him while the food was set on the table.

"For the shitty long nose who clearly had his head up his unmentionables just now, we have a lightly seared pike in meuniere sauce on a bed of roasted lemon and onions," the chef then proceeded to lay out three more delicious looking and smelling dishes from the tray, "and for the lovely lady we have a plate of tender shrimp with linguini and creamy garlic sauce, a light salad of spring vegetables, and a chocolate lava cake, as well as an antidote for the rat poison her shitty butler has been slipping into her meals. All served with a local white that I found nestled in the back for a special occasion."

Then the chef straightened up and smiled broadly, "She really is too good for you Usopp."

Usopp's eyes watered and then he leapt from his seat to hug the man casually insulting him, "SAAAAAAAAAAAANJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

"Get off me Long-nose, you know I only hug ladies," Sanji grumbled half-heartedly with a grin to show that he didn't mean it at all.

==Later==

"YOU HAVE A SISTER?!" Usopp exclaimed in shock.

Sanji frowned in annoyance, "And three identical brothers with different hair and bad attitudes. How can you not remember this? We told you about every bit of it after Whole Cake Island."

Then a horrible thought washed over him, "Wait a second, Usopp, how much do you remember?"

"Sabaody, Aokiji showing up," Usopp replied grimly, "After that I woke up here six months ago trying to convince myself it was all real and trying to get back in what little shape I was in so that I wouldn't be such a weakling this time around."

Sanji laid his head in one of his hands and then something occurred to him and he looked up, "Usopp. _Aokiji wasn't at Sabaody._ "

"What?!" Usopp exclaimed, "How can you not remember that? It was that big fat guy with the axe and the giant Kuma robot and Kuma and Aokiji! We all started running when Luffy told us to get away while we still could and started prepping his Fourth Gear! Then Aokiji blasted him and reappeared right in front of us and then," Usopp snapped his fingers. He frowned as Sanji stared at him, "Wait, are you telling me you remember something different?"

"Completely," Sanji replied, "The way I remember it, Luffy didn't even _reveal_ Fourth Gear until Dressrosa, two years _after_ Sabaody, and it was Kizaru at Sabaody, not Aokiji. The fat guy with the axe and the two Kumas are the same, but the first time I saw Aokiji after Water Seven was in the New World after he quit the Marines to avoid having to work under Akainu."

Usopp frowned and thought long and hard, then his heart skipped a beat and he looked up, "Sanji, did you just say Aokiji was a _man_ in your memories?"

Sanji frowned, "Yeah. Come on, how can you forget the guy? Ten feet tall, ice logia, wrecked our entire crew like it was nothing and scared Robin so bad she started acting crazy when CP9 showed up at Water 7?"

"You mean Vice Admiral Kuzan?" Usopp asked, "Yeah I remember him, you're right that nightmare's unforgettable, but the Admiral Aokiji I remember was a normal looking girl with blue hair!"

Sanji's eyes widened, "You don't think…"

"We're remembering different versions of history," Usopp said quietly, "Have you found any of the others yet?"

Sanji ground his cigarette between his teeth, "Yeah, Luffy and Zoro took down Axe-Hand Morgan right on time, and then Buggy too, but there've been a lot of reports of some other guy who I don't know helping them. Then a bank on Luffy's home island got cleaned out, and judging from the newspaper article on it, it had to have been him, although it's way too smart to have been him or Mosshead, so I can only guess it was Nami or the new guy."

"You sure?" Usopp asked curiously, "The Luffy I knew seemed pretty sharp once we got into the Grand Line. I mean before we hit Loguetown he was a bit of a numbskull, but once Smoker showed up, Luffy got serious and took him down in one punch."

Sanji almost choked on a puff of smoke, "He _WHAT?! Luffy's NEVER been able to one shot the smoke bastard!_ "

"My Luffy did," Usopp declared. Then it dawned on him, "Wait, you don't think he might've remembered the same version you're talking about when that lightning bolt hit him at the execution platform do you?"

"That's gotta be it," Sanji muttered, "There's no way Smoker would've gone down unless Luffy had Haki. New World Luffy could've beaten East Blue Smoker no problem, but before that Luffy was helpless against most logia types."

"What's Haki?" Usopp asked with a frown.

Sanji looked up at him and blinked slowly, "Aaand that's why you didn't sense those marines coming for you." He sighed, "Guess you're back to pre-training Usopp." He snuffed out the stump of his cigarette, "Oh well. It's still good to see you, and at least now I know why Aokiji sounds so different whenever I tap the Marines' snail network. You wanna go find the others?"

"Are you crazy?! Hell yeah I wanna go find the others!"

"Well you better grab Kaya, the Marines received orders last night to round up everyone associated with us along with our starter bounties and the pictures to match. There was a whole slew of pictures and names with bounties that were supposedly associated with us. Some of them, like Nojiko and those two dipshit friends of Zoro's I remember, but there are a bunch of others that I'm drawing complete blanks on."

"WHAT?!"

"Apparently _your_ Aokiji remembers us VERY well. My boat's on the south shore, I've got the whole list with me."

==That Night==

Nami sat bolt upright, drenched in ice cold sweat, looking around wildly before remembering where she was. She set her head in her hands, "Was it all a dream?"

A moment later there was a knock at the door and then Atlas poked his shaggy head in. Nami nearly had a stroke as memories of a very different Atlas flooded her mind and Atlas smiled, "Well, glad to see I'm not the only one who remembers."

"Y-you remember," Nami asked warily, "And yet you're here, on _our_ crew?"

Atlas frowned in legitimate confusion, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Ohhh maybe the fact that you _destroyed us last time? SAINT ATLAS THE GUILLOTINE?"_

" ** _WHAT?!_** "

...

...

 **End Chapter**

...

 **AN:** _I told you there was somebody mucking about with the timestream didn't I? (winks)_

 **...**

 **SBS:**

 **Q:** _If Atlas were a flower, what would he be?_

 **A:** _A Daffodil._

 _ **...**_

 _ **All questions about the story, the characters, whatever are still welcome.**_


	17. Chapter 17: The Headman

Chapter 17: The Headman

==A Few Minutes Later==

Atlas sat with his head in his hands, slumped against the mast. "I'm guessing from the fact that you seem completely clueless about all of this that you were talking about something totally different when you said you remembered?" Nami asked coolly.

The night was a typical one in the East Blue, warm and a bit muggy, but Atlas felt like he'd been tossed in a pile of snow while he was soaking wet. "The worst part," he said quietly, "Is that I can see myself being _exactly_ like that if I had been born a Celestial Dragon. I'm not, but the women you remember me having with me? Robin, Hancock, Vivi, Reiju and the others…I know them. I know them all very well, and yes, I adore all of them. They're my family, just like the rest of the crew. Or rather, they were in the lives I remember. Now I only know Robin and Vivi, you and Nojiko too now. Oh, you were right when you guessed that I'm married by the way. Me and Robin. I've got all my memories from this life back, as well as three others, I got them this morning, but not that one you've remembered. Although," he added as he wiped the blood dripping from his nose, "It sounds like that was a fun one for me."

Nami made a noise of disgust and Atlas sighed, "It's a mortifying idea in retrospect. I feel sick just even thinking about the possibility of any of you being treated that way, especially by me… but I don't know what I can do to…" He went still suddenly, "I wonder if that would work…" He raised his hands in front of him in an X and made a swiping motion. An instant later a hole popped open in the air. Nami frowned as she saw pictures forming in the hole, "What is that?"

Atlas looked around it and grinned as he saw it was working, "A window into my memories."

==A Few Hours Later==

Luffy stirred slightly as Nami slid into bed next to him, "Nami?"

Nami kissed him gently, "I am _so_ hogging you all to myself until we meet Hancock."

Luffy wasn't sure what she meant, but she looked happy cuddling against his chest, so he just smiled and held her close as he fell back asleep.

==Meanwhile==

Zoro snapped awake, his swordsman senses tingling. He quickly climbed out of the bed and got dressed, quickly catching his swords up and tucking them through his haramaki as he headed for the deck.

He followed the feeling in his gut until he found Atlas sitting on the deck by the wheel, "Hey Atlas, what's…nice sword."

His gaze was immediately drawn to the dull gray blade in Atlas's hand. Zoro could tell at a glance, the dull color was the metal, not a result of its owner not caring for it. The katana was well balanced and it had a simple cross guard. The blade reflected the moonlight with an odd bluish hue as Atlas looked up, "Thank you. This is Zabuza."

 _Never cut twice,_ Zoro thought, "That's a good name for a sword. I thought you said you weren't a swordsman though?"

Atlas smiled ruefully, "In this life I wasn't. Nami just helped me remember though." He rose to his feet and sheathed his blade with a faraway look in his eye. He raised his hand and a pillar of stone suddenly fell into being on the deck. Zoro looked at it in surprise and then at Atlas as his hand went to the blade he'd called Zabuza.

Zoro blinked and Atlas was on the other side of the stone pillar. Then the pillar fell apart in over a dozen pieces. Zoro gaped, "How did you…"

"In another life," Atlas said quietly, not turning to look, "I was the swordsman known as Saint Guillotine, because nobody ever survived my first attack. I lost track of how many people I killed with this blade." He looked over his shoulder at Zoro, "I remembered you though. You were the first person to ever survive the first strike once I took up that name. It was one of the best fights I'd ever had." He smiled earnestly, "You lasted almost a full minute!"

Zoro stared, a full minute was a long time in a fight sure, but to have lasted _less than a minute?_ "Now hold on!" Zoro protested, "I'm pretty sure the only person who's ever trounced me _that_ badly was Kuina! I'd remember that!"

Atlas smiled thinly, "Yeah, if it had happened in this lifetime. If it had though, you'd be dead. Tell me Zoro, do you believe the past can be changed?"

Zoro's heart skipped a beat, "What?"

"I do," Atlas said quietly as he drew his blade a little from its sheath and glared at his reflection in it, "Because this morning I remembered three lives that can't possibly have happened otherwise. If it were just me, I might write it off as a dream or something, but I can't, because Nami remembered a fourth." He sighed and sheathed his blade, "The only thing I can think of that might be doing it is a Devil Fruit, but I have no idea who or what could be doing this."

Silence reigned for a moment between them, and then, "Say I want to believe you," Zoro said quietly, "Can you prove it?"

"I can show you my memories of the three I remembered, and Nami's as well of the fourth. That was enough to jog mine and Nami's of the ones we didn't remember." Atlas replied, "But I should warn you," he looked Zoro right in the eyes, "In two of them, I'm the one who killed you."

Zoro's breath skipped, "Is that some sort of challenge?"

"No," Atlas said quietly, "I just don't want to lose our friendship in this life because of what happened in previous ones. We weren't friends in those lives, but if Nami'd had a gun when she remembered Saint Guillotine, she would've killed me on the spot. Or, she would've _tried_. Bullets don't work so well against me." He was quiet for a moment, "We were best friends in the other two, and I'd like for this to be one of those lives. The Strawhat Monster Trio wouldn't feel right otherwise."

Zoro was quiet for a moment and then, "Show me."

==Morning==

Everyone aboard the Storm Queen was woken by the clash of steel on steel ringing out like an ADHD monkey on meth with bells. They all quickly dressed and went to look. Nami and Nojiko were suddenly very glad that Atlas had moved Bellemere's tangerine trees into the virtually indestructible dome atop the ship. His lightning fast duel with Zoro in the crater where the grove had been would've shredded them otherwise.

The two of them were little more than a blur of steel in the heart of the nearly tornado like wind their incredibly powerful clash was kicking up. Just as the rest of the crew was giving up on being able to see the individual strokes in the wildly fast battle, suddenly the two sprang apart. In an instant their swords were sheathed. "Are they stopping?" Nojiko asked.

Nami's eyes widened as she saw their hands go to the hilts of their favored weapons, Wado Ichimonji for Zoro and Zabuza for Atlas, "No! They're about to-" _BOOM!_

Anyone who blinked would've missed the blur of movement that denoted their attacks, but nobody could've missed the shockwave that resulted from their blades clashing. Atlas said something and then they stepped back, sheathed their blades and shook hands.

Zoro grinned, "I guess we're both a little rusty." "And out of shape," Atlas smiled abashedly, "Ah well. You know what that means!" "Training," Zoro declared, his grin widening.

Then he turned, "Hey Rebecca!" Rebecca started slightly and pointed at herself in surprise. "Yes you," Zoro declared, "Bring your sword and get down here! It's time for training!"

Rebecca went slightly pale, then an excited grin split her features, "Be right there!" She turned and almost _skipped_ back to the cabin she shared with Mina to retrieve her sword.

The others watched her go and Mina muttered, "And people think _I'm_ the crazy one…"

Then Nami realized what Zoro and Atlas had just said and nearly went over the rail in delight, "ZORO! YOU REMEMBER?!"

"That depends!" Zoro called back, "Does my debt transcend death?"

"You're not dead so yes it do~oes!" Nami sing-songed delightedly. She actually danced a little in place clapping and giggling delightedly, "We got Zoro back!"

Luffy frowned in confusion as Zoro denied remembering anything and Atlas laughed, "Eh, Nami? Are you feeling alright? Zoro didn't go anywhere."

Nami threw her arms around him and kissed him with a big smile, "Don't worry, you'll get it sooner or later."

"Oh, okay!" Luffy said with a smile. If Nami said it was alright then surely it was.

Nojiko and Mina swapped a confused glance and then Nojiko sighed, "Hey Mina, you want some breakfast?" "Sooo much…" Mina replied as her stomach groaned in agreement.

==Meanwhile==

"MERRYYYYY!" Usopp and Sanji wailed as soon as they saw the ship. Without another word they raced aboard.

Kaya wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she supposed it was a good sign that Usopp and Sanji showed such delight at the ship she had arranged. They were both running around hugging various bits of the ship like it was their best friend, Usopp babbling the whole time about how things would be different this time.

She swapped a glance with Merry and shrugged.

==Elsewhere==

Admiral Aokiji exhaled as she looked down at the two sniveling young men on their knees before her. She thought for several moments as the full crews of both ships watched on in silence.

On the one hand, she remembered several lives where Captain Coby and Lieutenant Helmeppo of the Marines were heroes. On the other hand, those were lives where Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp wasn't conspicuously _missing_. If she threw them in the brig, or let them go, then she risked them joining the Strawhats. If she took them with her, then it would fall on _her_ to train them and make sure they didn't become the New World grade pirates she had once seen them become. More than once in Coby's case.

She exhaled and then a small smile crossed her face, _Or…_

Coby and Helmeppo felt a glimmer of hope as the beautiful young Admiral who had just saved them both and effortlessly taken down Axe-Hand Morgan in an instant smiled. It was a beautiful smile, soft and warm like a mother's hug. Coby and Helmeppo both knew immediately that they'd do _anything_ to see that smile aimed at them more often.

Then she spoke and the hope turned to cold terror, "For the crimes of insubordination and aiding the attempted escape of a Marine prisoner, I find you both guilty." She said it with that same serene smile and absolute cool confidence. It was _very_ clear that there was no doubt in her mind that she was in the right, and Coby and Helmeppo both knew without a doubt that even if anyone _wanted_ to stop her, there was probably nobody in the East Blue that could even begin to.

Aokiji drew her twin pistols and leveled them at the two young Marine wannabes, "The sentence for these crimes is death. Don't worry. I promise, it'll be quick." The hammers rose, "You may have one minute to make your peace with your actions."

"Don't we get a last request?!" Helmeppo asked in frantic terror after her words registered.

"No." The hammers fell.

==Later That Morning==

"WHAAAT?!" Dr. Nako exclaimed as he examined Luffy's hand. It was the same hand that had been shattered into a million pieces the day before, but now it was completely healed. "HOW ARE YOU COMPLETELY HEALED?!"

Luffy tilted his head, "Huh? I always heal this fast. Is that weird?"

"HELL YES THAT'S WEIRD!" Dr. Nako exclaimed, "YOUR HAND WAS IN A MILLION PIECES! IT HAD SHATTERED LIKE GLASS! IT SHOULDN'T HAVE HEALED AT ALL WITHOUT EXTENSIVE RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY! BUT YOU'VE HEALED LIKE IT NEVER HAPPENED IN A MATTER OF HOURS!"

Nami thought about it and then started laughing nervously, "Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry Doc, I guess there was no need to come see you after all. The only time Luffy doesn't heal at insane speeds is when he's completely exhausted. He's fed and rested, that's really all he needs. I think it's something to do with the Grand Line, his grandpa's a marine and everyone I know who's been there is insanely strong, so maybe there's something in the water and food over there. Um…what are you doing?"

Dr. Nako looked up from where he was packing, "Nami, if you're going with this boy to the Grand Line, then I'm coming with you! I want a chance to study him and if the Grand Line really does have effects like that on the human body, then I want to know about them!"

Nami felt a growing sense of alarm, "Um, are you sure Doc? It's really dangerous in the Grand Line!"

"All the more reason for you to have a good doctor on board!" Dr. Nako replied.

==Later==

Nojiko looked up, "Oh hey Dr. Nako! What are you doing he…why are you packed like you're coming with us?"

"I couldn't talk him out of it," Nami groaned, "Then he started trying to convince Luffy and succeeded and once Luffy's made up his mind there's no stopping him. Atlaaas! Dr. Nako needs a room!"

Atlas's voice echoed up from the bowels of the ship, "First door on the right side of the crew's quarters! Welcome aboard Doc! You're in for one hell of a ride!"

Dr. Nako blinked, "Does the Grand Line increase one's senses too?!"

"No that's induced by training," Nami replied, "Although I'm not sure I've ever heard of anyone having it without ever going to the Grand Line, so I don't know. Maybe. Anyway, he talked Luffy into it and now he's coming whether it's a good idea or not."

"Good idea?" Nako exclaimed irritably, "I'll have you know I was a pirate myself back in my heyday!"

Nami and Nojiko's jaws hit the deck, " _What?!_ "

Nako grinned, "Oh yes, and I'm quite looking forward to having one last adventure, so get used to me being around." There was suddenly a hatchet in his hand which he twirled expertly as the light glinted off his sunglasses menacingly, "Because even if I'm not as tough as I used to be, I can still use this for a _lot_ more than chopping firewood. I even had a bounty even though they could never get a picture of me."

He reached into the inner pocket of his coat and unrolled a beat up old wanted poster to show Nami and Nojiko. The picture showed a sinister silhouetted figure against a setting sun in a long coat with a narrowly discernable bandanna and an axe. "Ten million for the pirate known as "The Headman" for the crimes of assault, battery, murder, piracy, resisting arrest, smuggling and theft?!" Nami exclaimed, "Doc! This, this can't be you!"

Nako laughed, "Don't be so sure! My nephew is a pirate too ya know! His bounty's higher than mine was, but that's because he's the right hand man of the toughest pirate in the East Blue behind you kids and Arlong! Check this out!" He fished another wanted poster from within his coat and showed it off with a grin, "That's my boy! Devil-man Gin of the Don Krieg Pirate Armada!"

Nami and Nojiko stared, now that they saw a picture, they could easily see the resemblance between the twelve million beri man and the aged doctor before them. _Gin was Dr. Nako's nephew?!_ Nami thought in shock, _And grumpy old Dr. Nako was a pirate?!_

She turned towards the door that led below deck as Luffy proceeded to ooh and ah over Nako's wanted poster, "ATLAAAS! I NEED BOOZE! MY GRUMPY UNCLE USED TO BE A PIRATE!" A hole opened in the air a moment later and Atlas's hand extended through it with a bottle of booze.


	18. Chapter 18: THE CHASE IS ON!

Chapter 18 – THE CHASE IS ON!

==Two Weeks Later==

Atlas snapped his fingers and gun ports opened along the side of the _Storm Queen_. The half dozen Marine Ships he had slowed the ship to allow to surround the ship suddenly found themselves disarmed, every one of their cannons relocated to aboard the virtually indestructible ship and pointed back at them. Atlas snapped his fingers again and their full supplies of cannonballs and powder were relocated as well. Atlas lit a match and with one more snap of his fingers the flame was transferred to the fuses of each and every one of the cannons.

Before the marine ships surrounding the Storm Queen could even realize where their cannons had gone, those cannons were firing upon them in a double broadside. In an eruption of flames and iron, the first two ships went up in flames and began to sink.

Atlas raised his hands and twisted the ship with his powers. Any other ship might've been snapped in two by the water's resistance, but Atlas had lined the hull and every inch of the ship's skeleton and hull with Seastone as soon as it had occurred to him. Another triple snap and two more ships went down as they scrambled to turn and escape. Atlas spun the ship and this time he only fired on one of the two ships he'd spun to put squarely in the line of fire.

Atlas popped out on top of the _Storm Queen's_ dome and projected his voice with his powers, "You may collect your wounded. Do not continue to pursue us or we will not be so kind next time." Then, just like that, the _Storm Queen_ shot off in an eruption of foam.

The lieutenant in charge of the one ship that was left twitched and then turned and began to bark orders, "Get boats into the water! Get those men aboard! Hurry there are probably numerous wounded!" He turned a scowl on the ship that was retreating with supernatural speed, "So that's the Strawhat Pirates huh? What a fearsome ability… Get Admiral Aokiji on the line, we need to report this."

"Sir! The Transponder Snail's gone!" "WHAT?!"

Atlas's voice echoed over the ship, "By the way, we're taking your snails. They are very cute, useful and you'd use them to give away our position."

The lieutenant twitched.

==Meanwhile==

Atlas dropped through a portal back into the protective dome with a double handful of startled looking Transponder Snails, "Okay! We now have Transponder Snails!"

Luffy and Mina immediately wanted to see and the snails looked back at them with interest. Atlas handed them off to the two excited devil fruit users and turned to the rather stunned looking members of the crew. Atlas shot them a thumbs up with a grin, "Okay! We now have a shit ton of cannons and ammo!"

" _You just sank five ships in an instant!_ " Nojiko exclaimed in no small amount of horror.

"Yep," Atlas replied succinctly as he renewed his thumbs up, "These are good powers."

Nami face palmed, then a small grin spread across her face, "Don't ever change Atlas." Atlas grinned, "You got it."

Nojiko looked at Nami, "You seem _remarkably_ blasé about this."

Nami shrugged, "He's our Gun Chief. He's the one in charge of taking care of enemy ships. Is it really so surprising that he's amazing at it?"

"Gun Chief?!" Doc Nako exclaimed, "He just did in five minutes what an entire crew, a BIG CREW would be hard pressed to pull off in an hour! Why is he not the captain?! Surely he's the most powerful one here!"

"I might be the most currently capable," Atlas corrected, "Aside from Zoro who I'm pretty evenly matched with." Doc Nako, Nojiko and Rebecca turned to look at Zoro with no small amount of surprised respect. Zoro looked back at them from beneath his tree as he finished taking a drink.

"That guy?" Doc Nako asked.

"Oh yeah, you didn't see their spar the other day," Nami mused, "Zoro can slice _mountains_ to pieces with enough force to send the pieces flying."

Atlas nodded, "I've got a slight physical edge on him right now because he's nowhere near his peak physical condition, but he can still carve up ships like cakes and lay waste to entire armies."

"But as strong as me and Atlas are," Zoro declared, "Luffy's stronger. Not yet, but once he's back up to full strength? There are only two words for him..."

"Pirate…" Atlas grinned.

" ** _KING._** **"** Nami finished.

Nojiko frowned, _There's something more going on here…_ "Didn't you guys say you all just met a few weeks ago? What happened that he's fallen that far that quick?"

Atlas, Nami and Zoro all blinked at her in confusion and then went slightly pale and started laughing awkwardly. Alarm bells started going off in Nojiko, Rebecca and Doc Nako's heads all at once. _They're hiding something._

Awkward silence reigned for a moment and then the three Strawhats' slunk away.

…

…

…

A few minutes later in the officers' quarters Atlas shut the door behind him and slumped against it, "That was _way_ too close."

"We really need to stop bragging about things that haven't happened yet," Nami declared, badly shaken by how close they'd come to revealing the impossible truth.

"Why don't we just tell them?" Zoro asked, "It's gonna be a total pain trying to keep all this quiet, and we don't know how many of them will recover their memories or if they even will. Besides, there's one other important thing we haven't thought about." Atlas and Nami looked at him and he asked, " _Who else remembers?_ "

Atlas and Nami froze as Zoro continued, "What if one of the Marines remembers? Hell, what if one of the _Admirals_ remembers? They'd be able to set the entire navy after us. Can you imagine how bad it'll be if _Smoker_ remembers what we have? He's a logia, physical strength is irrelevant! Once he gets his memories back, he'll be as strong as he ever was _instantly,"_ he looked at Atlas, _"_ and if he remembers that you used to be a logia hunter, then he'll know you pack sea stone bullets."

"And his Haki was one of the few to ever match mine…" Atlas breathed.

Nami sank to one of the cushions moaning in worry as she put her head in her hands, "I want my Clima-Tact!"

"I want a drink," Atlas replied as he facepalmed, "Because we all totally forgot that Rebecca has Observation Haki and can hear us perfectly right now."

Nami and Zoro swore loudly in unison.

…

…

…

Atlas made a table and chairs on deck while Nami gathered everyone up. When they were all there, Luffy sat on one side with Nojiko and Doc Nako on one side between him and Nami, Zoro across from him, and then Mina and Rebecca between him and Atlas. Zoro sighed, "Okay, so as Rebecca overheard our conversation, I guess we should explain what's happened."

Luffy tilted his head, "Something happened?"

"The three of us have recovered memories of alternative lives," Atlas declared firmly, "So all three of us are now as strong as we would've been if we'd already been all the way through the Grand Line. We remember finding the One Piece, and we remember helping you become Pirate King. Rebecca, I'm guessing that you had probably already noticed our power has skyrocketed, that's why."

Luffy looked horrified and the table was silent for several minutes as Atlas's words sank in. Then Luffy asked, "So you already know what'll happen?"

"No," Atlas said firmly, "We know the route. We have no idea who all else might have remembered what we have. We have no shortage of enemies, and if _any of them_ remember then the route will be much MUCH harder this time as they will undoubtedly remember how we defeated them last time. Now that I think about it, I'm certain at least one person in the Marines remembers, and because of that, we're short an incredibly formidable ally."

Zoro and Nami turned to him in shock, "What? Who?!" Atlas told them who and why, and both came within an inch of soiling themselves.

Luffy asked who he was talking about and Atlas explained. Luffy was quiet for a moment and then he nodded, "Well we'll just have to succeed without him. Have we done it before?"

Atlas confirmed that they had not and Luffy's face split into a grin, "Good. Then this'll still be a challenge!"

Atlas, Nami and Zoro gaped at him and then smiles spread across their faces. Zoro looked at Doc Nako, "You asked why he's captain. _That's why._ "

Atlas looked across at Luffy, "I'd still like to tutor you in combat captain. I won't restore your memories the way I did Zoro's, I know you'd hate having so many of the surprises spoiled, but I can still help you remember how to use your various gears and teach you Rokushiki." Then he turned to look at the others, "Doc Nako I'm afraid I can't recall you having ever sailed with us before, so I don't have any memories for you. Rebecca I could show you what I remember of you, but I don't think you'd really benefit from it. Mina, I can only assume that some things have gone extremely different in this timeline, because I've never met you before, and if you had been there to meet, I would have. Congratulations," he added quietly at Mina's surprised look, "You're a complete and rather welcome surprise." Mina blushed slightly and then Atlas looked down at the table and his face fell, "Aaand last but far from least…Nojiko."

He sighed, "I really don't want to."

Nojiko blinked, "WAIT! You mean I was a part of the crew before?!"

"You mean you actually believe all this?!" Doc Nako demanded.

"Once we make it into the Grand Line Doc," Nami said quietly, "You'll learn to believe anything." Doc Nako looked at her in shock and then she sighed and looked at Nojiko as she continued, "Yes Nojiko, you've been part of the crew twice, this makes three that I can remember. Atlas doesn't want to show you the life I remembered because he was our final opponent in that life."

Nojiko paled, "Final…opponent?"

"He decimated us," Zoro declared, "What did it take him Nami, ten minutes?"

"Nine," she said quietly, "And that's only because he had such a hard time with Brook."

"We're a lot stronger now than we were then," Zoro declared, "And Atlas is on our side, so we don't have to worry about it this time. Also," he looked at Atlas and a teasing grin split his features, "I'm surprised you don't want to show her those other ones."

"OF COURSE I WANT TO SHOW HER THOSE!" Atlas snapped before slumping forward, "I'm just not sure I can delineate the memories so cleanly. The more you don't want to think about something the harder it is to not, and if I think about it even a little then she'll see it."

Nami reached across the table to lay a hand on his and in a soft but firm voice, "Atlas. That life was horrible, and yes, you were a bit of a monster." Atlas flinched and then Nami continued softly, "But you also treated us with the utmost respect and care once you had us. You thought what you were doing was just, and if we hadn't been pirates with the total bounty for our little crew nearing a billion beris, you probably would have been our friend as quick as our enemy. You weren't you, and we've got three other lives where you were one of the strongest members of our crew. Now go shave so that you don't look so scary and old, and then give Nojiko her memories back."

Atlas opened his mouth to protest and Nami cut him off, "I know you want your little powderpuff back, and the longer you beat around the bush about it, the more upset she'll be when she finally remembers you _Trigger._ "

A chill seemed to run down Atlas's spine and after a glance at Nami, he slumped back in his seat. Then his beard fell out. It just, fell out. Everyone gaped at him and then he muttered, "It'll take about two weeks to grow back."

The beard falling out wasn't what had them staring though, it was what the beard falling out had revealed. "You're, the same age as me?" Mina asked in shock.

With the beard, Atlas looked like he could be around thirty. With it gone, his skin was revealed to be smooth and flawless beneath and his face was totally unblemished except for the spiral shaped scar around his eye. The smooth un-weathered hide and boyish shape of his face made him look half his age when revealed.

"No," Atlas replied sharply, "I have an exceedingly young face. It runs in my family. I'm actually almost thirty, but nobody ever figures it out if I don't have my memories because I look half my age."

"Does that happen to you often?" Rebecca asked skeptically.

Atlas was quiet for a moment as he counted on his fingers, "Just three times that I can remember, but that's still a lot, and I don't know how many other lives it's happened in." He sighed, "It's rather beside the point though, Nojiko, would you like to see the other lives?"

Nojiko was quiet for a moment, and Atlas realized she had gone very still and was staring straight at him. Then she got up, blushing furiously, walked around the table, grabbed him by the ear and dragged him below deck.

==A Few Minutes Later==

Nojiko pushed Atlas into his cabin and shoved him up against the door before latching onto him for a fierce kiss. Nojiko broke off the kiss, "I can't believe…" she kissed him again, hot, heavy and fierce, "You didn't tell me…" Atlas kissed the nape of her neck just the way he knew drove her crazy, "…right away!" Nojiko moaned as Atlas proceeded downwards.

"I should make you…be-beg for forgiveness!" Nojiko groaned, "So why the hell…are you the one making mEEE! …crazy right nooowhoo that's the spot…"

Atlas grinned up at her from her now exposed breast and then straightened up to kiss her again, cupping her face in his hands, "I'm so sorry Powderpuff," he told her quietly, "I only just remembered yesterday morning, and by then, you and Zoro…"

"Yeah," she breathed, "Why is the scary sword guy from Loguetown here?"

Atlas blinked and then smiled, "Oh, that's the one you remembered. That one was a weird one, Zoro's usually the First Mate instead of me and I'm usually Gun Chief and Quartermaster. Oh, and Powderpuff? I found Robin."

Nojiko's eyes went wide in surprise, "What? Already?"

Atlas nodded, "Somehow I wound up in the Line this time, I was able to encounter her a lot sooner than usual, and um…well…I kinda married her."

Nojiko raised an eyebrow at him, "And? Robin knows she has to share."

Atlas looked starstruck for a second and then he leaned in for another kiss with a grin, "God I've missed you…"

"You said you only remembered yesterday…" Nojiko pointed out when they came up for air.

"Still too long Powderpuff," he replied.

"Triggeeer…" she grinned before resuming the wildly intense make out session.

==On Deck==

Rebecca blushed and looked over at Nami and Zoro, "Um…were those two…attached in one of those alternative lives?"

"Oh yeah, we've all been together at least at one point and another throughout those other lives together. I think that's a big part of the reason why I was so comfortable around Luffy Zoro and Atlas so quickly, some part of me remembered loving them before. Those two though," Nami laughed, "In the one where they were closest, Zoro never joined the crew so Atlas was First Mate instead. When everyone came to stop Arlong, Atlas took down Hatchan instead of Zoro, who usually does it. Then he did a pretty fair job of pounding on Arlong until Luffy got his second wind and came to finish the job. Nojiko and Atlas started flirting at the party and next thing you know Nojiko was joining us as Gunner's Mate. Then they started spending all their time together and before long she was his mate in the other sense of the word. Then they somehow got Robin in on it…"

Zoro spewed his booze, "Wait what?!"

"Didn't he tell you he's married to Robin?"

"WHAAAAAAAT?!" Zoro was stunned for a full minute and then he started to howl with laughter. "OH MAN SWIRLY'S GONNA BE SO PISSED!" he cackled. Even Nami snorted with laughter and Rebecca, Mina, Luffy and Doc Nako immediately wanted to know who they were talking about.

"Ohh…you'll see!" Nami said with a grin, "We've just gotta go get Usopp first!"

"Usopp?" Luffy asked, his brow furrowing before a lightbulb popped on over his head, "Wait, you mean Yasopp's kid? He's going to join us?! AWESOME!"

==Elsewhere==

Tashigi started slightly as Captain Smoker choked on his coffee in shock, "Captain?!"

"I'm…*cough*…fine Tashigi," Smoker declared irritably, "Look at this." He turned the wanted poster around to show her and Tashigi saw why he had choked.

" ** _THREE HUNDRED MILLION IN THE EAST BLUE?!_** " Tashigi shrieked in surprise. _What kind of monster is this Strawhat Luffy?!_

"That's not all," Smoker declared as he started rifling through the rest of the stack of wanted posters rolling out of the fax machine, "His entire crew is in here, and it looks like none of them are worth less than fifty million. Most importantly though…"

He turned around the poster that had come out after Luffy's to show it to her, "Do you know this man?" Tashigi stopped breathing and stared for a full minute before she fainted.

Smoker nodded curtly and looked at the wanted poster of Pirate Hunter Zoro, "Good, so it's not just me." Then he turned to the seaman that was manning the fax machine and looking at the unconscious sergeant major with extreme concern, "Get Admiral Aokiji on the line, NOW." He grinned madly as memories started flooding back to him like the very ocean itself rushing through the floodgates of his mind, "I've got a chase to get back to."

Then he started laughing. It was big booming sound that nobody in Loguetown had ever heard before, and now as it shook the Marine base, they decided it was the most profoundly terrifying sound they'd ever heard.


	19. Chapter 19: From The Decks of The World

Chapter 19 – From The Decks Of The World

==The Next Day==

Atlas snuck ashore. It had been an unwelcome shock when they realized there were no less than five marine ships docked at the island, and they'd had no choice but to conclude that somebody in the Navy had _definitely_ remembered. Atlas had elected to sneak ashore alone as he was the most practiced at stealth aside from Nami, and he was a lot stronger than her. Now using a trick similar to what he remembered Blueno of CP9 doing, he slunk through Syrup Village completely invisible as he carefully watched Marines scour the town.

They weren't being gentle about it. _In point of fact,_ Atlas mused, _I do believe I've seen raiding pirates make less of a mess than this._ The Marines were going door to door, literally upending every building in town hunting someone, probably Usopp.

Atlas was only able to watch for a few minutes before he started reaching out and yanking Marines into his invisible space for what Sanji would've called "lessons in etiquette", which really just boiled down to an out and out beat down. Once he started using Shave to cover more ground, he cleaned out the entire village in a matter of minutes. Nobody saw him, but everyone saw his quickly blood covered hands reaching out to snatch Marines through holes in the air and knock them senseless before tossing them back out like bags of trash. He didn't let himself be seen until he stepped into the open in Kaya's now thoroughly ransacked mansion in front of the five ranking officers of the ships docked at the island who were all kicked back in the parlor like they owned the place.

It was immediately obvious that they recognized him on sight because they all immediately turned white as sheets with terror as Atlas's murderous gaze fell upon them. To their credit, two of them tried to fight. Their swords clanged off Atlas harmlessly and then fell to the ground as he lifted the two swordsmen by their throats. Then he unceremoniously slammed their heads together with enough force to crack their skulls.

Half a dozen bullets ricocheted off him almost simultaneously and Atlas stormed forward like an avalanche, unstoppable in his towering rage. A few seconds of shocking violence later, the three officers of "justice" were unconscious and hardly recognizable masses of blood and broken bones from the shoulders up with the barrels of their pistols brutally shoved about two inches up their nostrils. Atlas turned to the frightened servants, who were peeking in terror out of the kitchen.

Atlas nodded, "That's the last of them. I am a friend of Usopp's. Have any of you seen him?"

The butler who Atlas vaguely recalled being named Merry stepped forward, "He left this island two weeks ago with Miss Kaya and a blonde cook. These men didn't believe us," he added with a glare at the unconscious Marines.

Atlas blinked at him in surprise, then a wolfish grin broke out over his face, " _Excellent._ Don't worry, I'll dispose of these."

He turned to start gathering the unconscious Marine officers and felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and Merry asked seriously, "Are you going to kill them?"

Atlas just grinned.

==A Few Moments Later==

Smoker and Tashigi stared in shock as nearly half a dozen Marine ships suddenly fell out of the sky into the Loguetown Harbor with a fair amount of the water that they'd been sitting in. A second later, five unconscious forms flew out of thin air and hit skidding and rolling across the pavement to land at Smoker's feet. Smoker stared in shock and then a wanted poster fluttered down out of the air. Smoker snatched it and went pale. He handed the poster to Tashigi, "He's mocking us."

Tashigi lowered her glasses from their usual perch on her forehead to look at the poster and froze in horror as she realized what he meant, "ATLAS HAS A DEVIL FRUIT?!" _And his memories!_ She added in her mind, _There's no way he'd send them to us unless he remembered!_

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL WAITING FOR?!" Smoker roared at the crowd of Marines standing around gaping in shock, "GET DOWN TO THE HARBOR AND HELP THE MEN ON THOSE SHIPS!"

He lifted one of the less battered forms, "Hey! HEY! Wake up! Where were you stationed?!"

"G-gecko Islands…" the battered man forced out, "We were sent to root out Sniperking…"

Smoker unceremoniously dropped him and straightened up, "As soon as we get this mess sorted out we need to chart a course for the Gecko Islands! The Strawhats are gathering even as we speak! Someone _get Aokiji on the snail!_ "

==Meanwhile==

Atlas stepped through a portal onto the decks of the Storm Queen, "Okay, good news, bad news. Good news, Sanji and Usopp have enough of their memories back for Sanji to come find Usopp and Usopp to beat down the entire Black Cat Pirates by himself." Zoro, Nami and Nojiko looked very impressed and surprised, then Atlas continued, "And the bad news is that Usopp and Sanji are already gone on the Merry with Kaya."

"Kaya?" Nami asked in surprise, "Why would they take Kaya?"

Atlas held up a stack of wanted posters, "I beat some answers out of the Marines in that town. Admiral Aokiji's the one who remembered us, and she's the one heading up this hunt. She's put out bounties on every member of our crew from every timeline, and not our starter bounties either. In fact, a lot of us never had these specific bounties, but it looks like Aokiji's just trying to keep a lid on how powerful we were at the top of our game to keep the panic down."

"Strawhat Luffy, three hundred million." Luffy grabbed his poster and proceeded to ooh and aah over it excitedly. Rebecca, Mina and Doc Nako stared at him as it started to sink that he might really be as strong as Atlas Zoro and Nami swore he was.

"Pirate Hunter Zoro, also three hundred million," Zoro accepted his with a small grin, it was nowhere near what he was worth, but it was still five times his original starting bounty.

"Weather Witch Nami, sixty-six million," Nami grimaced at the number but then smiled as she saw that they had somehow managed to use the really cute picture from Enies Lobby.

"Powderpuff Nojiko, sixty-two million," Nojiko blinked in surprise and then grinned at the badass picture they had somehow gotten of her.

"They remembered Usopp's two hundred million bounty, and Sanji's tied with Zoro and Luffy," Atlas mused aloud, "I guess that was the highest Aokiji could get away with putting on us for starter bounties. Let's see, who's next?" He moved Sanji and Usopp's posters to the back of the stack, "Oh look it's me! "Red Handed" Trueno D. Atlas, worth six hundred million, don't worry I've been getting up to a lot of mischief already…now then, who…" He froze and his eyes went wide as the color drained out of his face.

Nojiko noticed immediately, "Who is it?! You look like you just got another set of memories back!" "Hellcat Carina," Atlas replied quietly, "Sixty-six million."

" _CARINA?!"_ Nami exclaimed in shock, "CARINA joined our crew?!" Nojiko looked over at her in surprise, "You know her?"

"Yeah she's an old rival of mine," Nami explained, "I didn't remember ever seeing her again until the Gran Tesoro incident!"

"She's joined at least once," Atlas declared before shooting Nami a mischievous smirk, "You two quite blurred the lines between love and war. It was almost like Zoro and Sanji when they're at each others throats, except you two were a little more…tch…" he sniggered lecherously as blood leaked from his nose. Nami blushed and Nojiko gently swatted Atlas's shoulder.

Atlas nodded, "Right, moving on. "Sky Rigger" Borodo and "Gadgeteer" Akisu worth eighty million and fifty million…" Zoro snapped around to look at him, "Wait a minute! I remember those two! They were the ones that got me and Johnny and Yosaku to take down the Trump Siblings!" He came over and his eyebrows went up as he saw the picture of Carina, "And that's Borodo's girlfriend!"

Nami slid over for a look and raised an appraising eyebrow, "Not bad. Nice going Carina!"

Atlas shuffled their posters to the back, "Hey Zoro, aren't these two friends of yours?" Zoro nodded, "Yep, Johnny and Yosaku. Two hundred million each? They must really step up their games!"

Atlas paused again on the next one, "Hey look it's Gin! Two hundred and sixty million, guess he steps up his game too!" He flipped to the next one and started cackling, "Usopp's gonna be so _pissed!_ "Helloooo _Nurse!"_ Kaya worth fifty million!"

"Him and Swirly both are gonna be _overjoyed_ if they see her in that outfit," Zoro mused as he took in the near scandalous nurse's outfit that had apparently become Kaya's battle attire at some point. The fierce look in her eyes and the handful of scalpels clenched in her fist were a stark change to the sweet but sickly blonde Zoro remembered.

Atlas nodded, "True, very true. Let's see, "Dragon Rider" Apis? Worth eighty million and holy shit she actually has a dragon. Dragon Lindy worth two hundred million."

He shuffled the two posters to the back and nodded, "That's apparently the last of the ones from the East Blue because the next one's "Wild Doc" Chopper. He'll be overjoyed, he's worth two hundred million." "That's a better nickname than Cottoncandy lover too," Zoro mused. "Ohhh I want to see Chopper again…" Nami moaned as she remembered how cute her fluffiest friend was.

Atlas handed her the wanted poster and moved on to the next one, "Next up is Robin-chan, shit. I hope Crocodile doesn't get a hold of thi…" His brow furrowed and then he went pale, then he started laughing, "GOD I LOVE MY WIFE!" "What happened?" Zoro asked. Atlas grinned, "Robin must've gotten word of this the instant the posters went out, because she killed Crocodile."

"EHHHHHHHHH?!"

==Elsewhere==

Robin sat in the Royal Palace of Alabasta calmly sipping tea with Princess Vivi and King Cobra who were both still rather stunned by the events of the last week. Then she sneezed slightly. A small blush rose to her face as she smiled at the wanted poster on the table in front of her, _Come back soon Atlas-kun!_

"Would you pass the biscuits?" a little girl with orange hair in an aviator's helmet and feathery black jacket asked Vivi.

"Of course Miss Friday," Vivi replied, still ever so slightly wary of the gluttonous little vulture zoan and her artistic otter zoan brother.

==Meanwhile==

"Says here that Baroque Works has been completely subverted and is now the Kingdom of Alabasta's secret service thanks to the efforts of Princess Vivi in exposing the Warlord Crocodile's plans and disposing of his assistant Miss All-Sunday revealed to be the treacherous pirate, "Dark Angel" Nico Robin, worth…yowza…" Usopp read aloud before pausing to give the paper in his hands a surprised look.

"How much?" Sanji asked over his shoulder from where he was cleaning up the breakfast dishes, "And I don't believe for a minute Robin-chwan's dead. More than likely she had Vivi-chan fake it so that she could get a head start on the government. This is good though, it means that Robin's probably got her memories back."

"It looks like Aokiji definitely remembers her, because her bounty is almost eight hundred million," Usopp declared, "It's ten times the original!"

The plate and rag slipped from Sanji's fingers in numb shock, only avoiding shattering by landing in the soapy water. Usopp kept reading, "Princess Vivi revealed to the public that Dark Angel Nico Robin, that's a much nicer nickname for her than Devil Child, I bet she's really pleased, was the former partner of not only the Warlord Crocodile, but also the infamous Trueno D. Atlas who a month ago took on…holy shit..."

"What now?" Sanji groaned.

"Three Vice-Admirals, _Boa Hancock and Jinbe_ and the entire fleet of Marines sent to take him down," Usopp read, slightly pale with terror, "Apparently he beat down the Vice-Admirals all at once, laid waste to half the fleet and was fighting Hancock and Jinbe to a standstill until Bartholomew Kuma showed up and blasted him off to parts unknown."

Sanji almost choked on his smoke, "Hancock-chwan AND Jinbe?! That's insane!"

"But it does explain why his and Robin's bounties are so much higher than the rest of us," Usopp mused, "If he can do that, and assuming Robin's that tough too, then they must _definitely_ have their memories. At least, I _hope_ that's the strength of several lifetimes. If he's that strong on his subjectively first run, then I don't even want to think about what kind of monster he'll be if he gets his memories back. I still wish I knew who he is though."

"Does it really matter?" Sanji asked, "He's apparently an absolute monster and it looks like he's on our side. I'm gonna have to beat some manners into him if he hit Hancock-chwan though."

Usopp gave him a flat look, but before he could respond, the snail Sanji used to tap Marine communications went off. Sanji and Usopp both turned to it and froze as they recognized the voice coming out of it.

"Attention all ships, this is Vice-Admiral Smoker of Navy HQ," Smoker growled, "The Strawhat Pirates have been sighted in the vicinity of the Gecko Islands. Do not attempt to engage without significant backup from Marineford, or unless you have been specifically designated as capable of confronting them. The Strawhats have just decimated the five ships sent to root out the pirate Sniper King, and we have just received reports that they defeated another half dozen ships yesterday in mere minutes. We suspect that Red Handed Atlas has obtained a devil fruit that allows him to open portals to any location he wants. His new bounty has not yet been determined but in light of this it is expected to approach or hit one billion beris. Be on your guard at all times. They can show up anytime, _anywhere._ If you see them, I repeat: observe, report, _BUT_ _DO NOT ENGAGE._ That is all."

Sanji and Usopp went pale and groaned in unison, "Oh god, SMOKER'S BACK…" Then the important part of his message clicked and they immediately ran to turn the Going Merry around. They stopped as soon as they hit the deck and saw Kaya sitting on a deck chair in the midst of a ship load of unconscious Marines. Kaya looked over the top of her book and smiled, "Hi boys! Hope you don't mind, I had a little fun while you were cleaning up in there."

==Meanwhile==

Ace choked on his drink as he saw the wanted posters. Marco patted him on the back with a Haki laced hand so it wouldn't just go right through him and then Ace's head snapped up and he erupted into flames as he took off running with murder in his eyes, " ** _TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEACH!_** " Even Whitebeard jumped at the sudden scream and eruption of killing intent.

" **OUTTA THE WAY!** " Ace roared as he turned to flames and washed across the rest of the crew who were all either staring in shock at the furious Second Division commander or trying desperately to get the hell out of his way. He blazed through the bowels of the ship and burst into the room just in time to see Teach standing over Thatch's bleeding and horribly still form as he raised the Dark-dark fruit to his lips.

" ** _NO!_** " Ace roared as he surged across the room, slugging Teach's teeth straight out and snatching the fruit away before punching Teach in the gut hard enough to knock him through the wall of the store room. Before Teach could even begin to recover, Ace was jamming the Devil Fruit down Thatch's throat, "COME ON! CHEW! CHEW!" When he was sufficiently convinced that the fruit was in Thatch's stomach and the transformation was taking place, Ace hefted Thatch over his shoulder and shot a murderous glare at Teach's unconscious form, " _I'll be back for you in a minute._ " Then he turned and ran screaming, " ** _MAAARCOOOOOOOOO!_** "

==Elsewhere==

Hody Jones and every member of the New Fishman Pirates present came within an inch of soiling themselves as Jinbe crashed through the roof of the sunken ship the New Fishman Pirates used for a hideout. Then Jinbe rose from the crouch he'd landed in with absolute murder in his eyes as he growled, " _Guess what I just found out._ "

Zeo would forevermore deny that he had screamed like a little girl. The rapidly disillusioned crew of the New Fishman Pirates who were not nearly stupid enough to think they could handle Jinbe while he was effortlessly pulverizing their leaders, would also forevermore tell you that he was lying through his teeth, and that he'd peed himself as well.

It was a very surprising day on Fishman Island as Jinbe revealed Hody Jones's treachery to the world, the wanted poster for Straw Hat Luffy clenched in his grip through the whole thing.

==On Amazon Lily==

Sandersonia, Marigold and Elder Nyon tried desperately to figure out just exactly what had the normally frosty and calm Hancock breaking down in heartbroken tears. Hancock didn't tear her heartbroken gaze away from the wanted poster in her hands as she whispered, "My babies…"

The three other Kuja around her looked at each other in confusion, _Babies?_

Then they nearly fainted from the overwhelming explosion of Conqueror's Haki as Hancock went from heartbroken to absolutely _furious_ in an instant. " ** _SOMEONE'S GONNA PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!_** " she screamed at the top of her lungs. All of Amazon Lily would've turned to stare at the palace…if Hancock's Haki hadn't laid out ninety percent of them.

"Sis, I think she finally lost it," Sandersonia whispered to Marigold.

" _I have not,_ " Hancock hissed with enough ice in her voice to freeze her sisters in place as she declared, "I want a full devil fruit encyclopedia _right now! I am GOING to find out who did this, and ready the ship! We're going to the East Blue!"_

Sandersonia and Marigold turned and bolted in terror to do as their big sister had demanded. It didn't do well to linger when Hancock was in a petrifying rage, and as furious as she was right now? Neither sister felt like trying their luck. Only Elder Nyon was there to hear Hancock whisper, "How could this have happened Luffy? W-who could do this to us?"

==Somewhere in the Sky==

Golden Lioness Sherry looked at the wanted posters in her hands and a grim smile spread across her features, "So Aokiji, what will you do now?"

Then her grim smile turned sunny and she turned to shout at the kitchen, "IVAAAAAAAN! FOOOOOD! WE NEED TO CELEBRATE!"

"Whatever you say captain-chwan!" Ivan called back gleefully.


	20. Chapter 20: Zoro and Sanji

Chapter 20 – Zoro and Sanji

"And you're certain?" The first mate asked nervously. "How many times do I have to tell you? _Of course I'm certain!"_ The captain snapped back, "The trials have gone off without a hitch! She always recovers fully in a matter of days! That's the strength of the Zoan _type!_ It's not their strength or speed, those can be surpassed by even those without devil fruits, but _nobody_ can heal, recover and survive like a Zoan except a logia."

The first mate was silent for a few minutes and then, "I still don't like it sir. I know! I know! You've tested and prepared and planned and we've done everything we can to ensure the plan goes smoothly. We always do, and you've never been wrong before…it's just…"

"Before it's always been a risk taken as a crew," the captain finished, "Now it's not."

The first mate nodded, "Yes."

The captain laid a hand on his first mate's shoulder, "Have faith in her. Has she ever let us down?"

The first mate was quiet for several minutes and then, "Alright. I guess I haven't got much choice but to trust you both." He tried to laugh to steel his nerves, "Nothing new there right?"

The captain nodded, "Right. Are you ready? You must do this exactly right."

The first mate took a deep breath and did what he could to settle his nerves, "Yeah, yeah…I'm, I can do this."

The captain nodded, "Good. Leone-chan! Come in! We're ready for you now!" The door opened and in walked a little girl with kitten ears and a tail. She bounced excitedly, "Alright! What's the plan Daddy?!"

Outside the crew finally let the tears they'd been holding back for the sake of their favorite crew member flow free in silence as they realized they really were about to lose the heart and soul of their crew.

==The Next Day==

It didn't take Sanji long to pinpoint the other Strawhats, once they got close his Haki had enough range to pick out the titanic gathering of power that couldn't be anyone else in the East Blue like a giant signal fire on the horizon.

He was greeted immediately by Zoro and Atlas leaping across howling with manic glee, "SWIIIIRLYYYYYYY!" Sanji immediately found himself caught in a vicious three-way bout, all three of Zoro's blades out and coated with misty black Haki while Atlas went hand to hand with everything from his shoulders down jet black, rock hard and crackling with electricity. There was no time to ask what was going on, but he could tell as he dove and spun and kicked madly that his two opponents were deeply enjoying themselves.

He flipped and managed to plant his toes in Zoro's guard and his heel on Atlas's forearm, only for Atlas to push him back and somersault forward to dodge the blade Zoro swung at his head. He landed on his hands and spun a kick at Sanji, looking like a half-baked version of Sanji's own Party-Table Kick Course…except with lightning. Sanji leapt back and sprang upward to spin and drop a heavy axe kick onto Zoro's quickly crossed blades after the swordsman tried to fillet him. Zoro just grinned and jumped as Atlas attempted to hit him in the ribs, throwing Sanji off balance just in time for Atlas to spin and torque a lightning loaded punch towards him. Sanji blocked with one shin and narrowly managed to flip backwards and away, just in time to see Zoro slam his blades into Atlas's Haki laced guard and send him flying backwards.

Zoro aimed a blade at both of them and grinned as his eyes darted back and forth between them. Sanji, having enough time to catch his breath and gather his wits, shouted, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!"

Atlas and Zoro both blinked at him in confusion and rose from their battle ready stances, Zoro actually even _taking the sword out of his mouth_ to stare at the blonde chef in confusion. "Um, sparring?" Zoro replied, "You feelin' alright Sanji?" Sanji did a doubletake, _Zoro had actually called him by name?!_ "We always fight like this," Atlas added in confusion, "Since nobody else but Luffy can."

Sanji frowned and glanced from one to the other, "Okay, I know I used to fight with Mosshead all the time, but who the hell are you?" He pointed at Atlas as Zoro looked more confused than offended at his nickname, "I'm pretty sure I've never met you."

Zoro and Atlas looked at each other in confusion and then realization dawned on them. "Ahhh, I get it," Zoro said, "You must've remembered one of the lives where Atlas never joined us." Atlas smiled and shot Sanji a thumbs up, "I'm Atlas, the Quartermaster and Gun Chief! Third member of the Strawhat Monster Trio. I can help jog your memories if you'd like! I've got Devil Fruit powers this time, and they've actually let me restore quite a few memories."

Sanji frowned, and looked from one to the other, still highly unsure of them, then he was tackled to the ground by a flying figure with a head full of orange hair and another one covered by a straw hat, "SANJIIIIIIIIII!"

Sanji took a second to recover from being slammed into the deck by gum-gum rocket propelled crewmates, then his face lit up, "NAMI! LUFFY!" He hugged them both and then they sat up. Sanji pointed at Atlas, "Who's this guy? I recognize Mosshead, but Scarface is new."

Nami blinked and then sighed, "He's your at least three times best friend and sworn brother. I guess you remembered a life where he never joined us?"

Luffy looked confused, "What?"

Sanji looked over at Atlas skeptically, "You sure?"

"OF COURSE WE'RE SURE!" Atlas, Zoro, Nami and Nojiko chorused. Sanji flinched in surprise and then realized Nojiko was there. "NOJIKO-CHWAN! WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?!"

Before he could even begin to flirt, Zoro and Atlas had him under the arms and were dragging him below deck. Usopp looked mildly put out at not being greeted so enthusiastically, but that ended when Zoro caught him by the back of the overalls, " _You too Usopp._ "

"WHY DON'T I GET A HUG AND ENTHUSIASTIC GREETING?!" Usopp demanded.

"Because it should be completely _obvious_ that we're delighted to see you?" Atlas posed dryly, "We kinda figured you wouldn't want in on the Monster Trio reunion scrap so we left you out of it. Hi Kaya-chan! You're looking well!" Kaya waved a little in surprise at the warmth and familiarity of the greeting.

"We'll be happy to include you next time," Zoro half-teased. Usopp went pale, "Ah, no! No! That's alright! Um, where are we going?"

"Restore your memories of all the lifetimes we can remember. Apparently we've got at least three that you two don't," Atlas replied.

==A Little While Later==

Sanji watched intently as the window into Atlas, Zoro and Nami's memories showed him a spectator's view of what he remembered as being his first fight with Zoro.

" _I'll tell you this much,"_ Nami told them coolly, her mask a horrible mask of cold, even _smug_ indifference, " _Right now Arlong wants to kill Roronoa Zoro and his men because Zoro and Atlas just had to be stupid. No matter how monstrously strong you are, you're no match for REAL monsters. If you hang around this island, you will wind up being killed. Not that it matters to me,"_ she added.

Sanji winced as he watched himself gush over how cool she looked, wondering how he could have not noticed how very incredibly WRONG that awful lie of an expression was? He was extra mortified to find himself agreeing when Mosshead told him to quit making a fool of himself. Then Mosshead turned to Nami, stepped forward and demanded, " _Where's Usopp?"_

Nami coldly told him that Usopp was at the bottom of the sea and Zoro charged her, his sword already flashing out. Sanji saw himself move to intercept with a kick straight at Mosshead's face, which would've been the first blow of their lifelong rivalry. Then suddenly Atlas was between them, Sanji's leg in one hand and Zoro's wrist in the other. Sanji's eyes widened as Atlas glared at first one and then the other of them, " _Settle down you two. Zoro, she's trying to rile you up hoping to make us angry enough to leave. She knows you wouldn't kill her. Sanji, I know you're new to the crew, but Nami is acting extremely strange right now. There's something very wrong right now and she's trying to get us to leave…to…"_

Atlas stopped and released Zoro and Sanji to turn and look at Nami in shock, " _You're trying to protect us from Arlong aren't you?"_ Nami quickly denied it, but Atlas's eyes zeroed in on her sole black glove, " _Nami, you're bleeding."_ Nami immediately shoved her hand behind her back and went ghostly pale as she denied it.

Atlas looked at her long and hard and then turned to Luffy, " _Luffy, Arlong hurt Nami. I think he's threatened to hurt her a lot more if she makes him angry. She won't be able to join us until we beat him down so hard that he can never hurt anyone again."_

Luffy's expression became very VERY dangerous indeed. As his hat shadowed his eyes, Sanji knew that his mind had already been made up even as he asked Nami if that was true. Nami's façade instantly crumbled and turned to panic as she tried to convince them not to fight Arlong. Luffy strode over to her, gave her a hug, and put his hat on her head. Sanji was stunned to this day by how much the silent gesture meant, but Nami was in no state of mind to understand right then. Then he turned, " _Let's go."_ Nami was immediately in tears as she begged them not to go, begged them not to die.

Zoro of all people was the one to stop and look over his shoulder, " _Alright. We won't die._ " Then he turned and kept walking, " _And what makes you think we'll leave without you? Hey Swirly, know any good recipes for shark?"_

" _More than you would believe Mosshead,_ " Sanji heard himself reply, although he was stunned by the grimly amiable tone that he'd swear he'd never in his life used in conjunction with the name Mosshead.

" _Something good with sake or rum,"_ Atlas added, " _Sake for Zoro, rum for me."_

Sanji saw himself muse for a moment, " _Yep. I've got a recipe for that."_ Sanji blinked as he realized he did indeed have exactly such a recipe.

Luffy asked if they were having a feast and Sanji sighed in fond memory before freezing, _memory?_ Then he actually heard Luffy ask the question a second after Sanji'd remembered and Sanji began to believe what he was seeing.

After that he found himself watching the ensuing battle against Arlong and the fishmen, which went a lot smoother due to Usopp showing up right as Arlong was about to throw Luffy into the water. Usopp shot a tabasco star down Arlong's throat as the sharkman laughed and Arlong was so surprised by the sudden pain that he dropped Luffy right on top of himself. Sanji had actually winced as he watched Luffy wrap around Arlong like a snake and unleash the most furious pummeling Sanji had ever seen his captain deliver while he, Zoro and Atlas took care of the Fishman Pirates' three officers and Usopp sniped down any fishmen that attempted to get up.

Then Atlas fast forwarded the memory to the after party, which showed him, Zoro and Atlas sitting in an alley, each with a drink in hand. Sanji idly noted that they each had something different, wine for him, rum for Atlas and sake for Zoro. He saw himself and Zoro start to disagree and then Atlas intercepted them, " _Oi, oi, let's not fight. We've got a long way to go in each others company, let's try to sort this out now yeah? Now what's the problem?"_

 _"_ _How can you act so foolish around women?"_ Zoro asked Sanji.

" _How can you act like there's nothing special about them?!"_ Sanji demanded before flinching back, " _Wait, you're not gay are you?"_

 _"_ _HELL NO!"_ Zoro roared only to be calmed down by Atlas waving a hand between the two of them.

" _Okay, I think I get it,"_ Atlas declared, " _Lemme see if I can put this to you two in ways that you'll understand. Zoro, I'm gonna explain your point of view to Sanji first since yours is a little quicker and easier to explain."_ Zoro nodded his agreement and Atlas looked at Sanji, " _Ok Sanji, here's the deal. The love of Zoro's life was also his greatest rival. She was the one person he could never defeat in a sword fight, and her dream was the same as his, to be the world's greatest swordmaster. Her father didn't believe in her though, thought a woman could never surpass all the men in the world to become the world's greatest."_

Sanji saw and felt himself turn red at the mere notion and then Atlas continued, " _So one night Zoro challenged her, for the first time they were fighting with real swords rather than bamboo. Once more, she defeated him, and afterwards she told him that she ironically envied him, parroting her father's belief that he would quickly surpass her once he hit his growth spurt and that she would never be able to catch back up."_ Sanji heard himself demand to know exactly what kind of bullshit that was and saw Atlas and Zoro nod.

 _"_ _That's right,"_ memory-Zoro declared, _"_ _It WAS bullshit, and I told her so. She was my rival, the strongest person I knew, and for her to insinuate that one day I might beat her simply because she was a girl was the gravest insult I could imagine. To her and me both, it demeaned both our skills and efforts in the cruelest way possible. I was furious with her for even suggesting it."_

 _"_ _That night,"_ he continued quietly, " _She and I made a promise."_ Sanji saw Zoro's hand clench on his white blade, both then and present, " _To be the world's greatest swordmaster. One of us would do it and it didn't matter which because we'd both still strive to surpass each other. Then the next day…"_ he went silent for a moment and Sanji felt his heart clench in horror, "… _she died."_ Sanji looked at the present Zoro in shock, as Zoro nodded grimly.

" _So why do I treat women like they're no different from men?"_ memory-Zoro asked, " _Because it would be the ultimate slap in the face to her memory._ "

Sanji immediately felt like a heel as he suddenly understood **exactly** why Mosshead had always gotten so angry over his flirting and swooning over beautiful ladies. Even if they were goddesses, to Zoro, it didn't matter. It **couldn't** matter, and the reason for that was one that Sanji could never have guessed he'd sympathize with so strongly.

Sanji slumped back in his seat, completely stunned and feeling a bit hollowed out as Atlas paused the memory, "Whoa…shit…" He glanced up at Zoro, "I never would've taken you for the romantic type mo-Zoro." He caught himself before he could call the swordsman 'Mosshead', "That's…gotta be one of the most tragic stories I've ever heard. I'm sorry."

Zoro nodded, "Oh just wait, it gets better. He actually managed to put _your_ point of view into terms _I_ could understand."

Sanji's jaw dropped, along with Usopp's who he had almost entirely forgotten was there and in unison they turned to look at Atlas. "Are you God?" Usopp asked in stunned reverence for the miracle he had just heard Zoro admit.

"No, that would be _you_ ," Atlas replied with a grin as he unfurled Usopp's wanted poster, "Eh God Usopp? Surely you remember _that_ , right Sanji?"

Sanji nodded, "I had almost forgotten about it, but yep, you actually did once lead an army nearly eight thousand strong with some god-worshipping going on Usopp." Usopp turned to stare at Sanji in shock and then immediately grabbed Atlas by the lapels, "PLEASE! SHOW ME!"

Atlas laughed, "Don't worry Usopp, we'll get there soon enough. For now just sit back and enjoy the show. You want to see the miracle of Zoro understanding Sanji don't you?"

Usopp was immediately back in his seat as quiet and attentive as a model student in class. Atlas and Zoro grinned. Sanji would've laughed, but he was honestly just as interested as Usopp as Atlas set the memory back in motion.

Memory Atlas turned to Zoro, " _Okay Zoro, imagine you work in a booze shop. You can drink all the booze you want, and your shop is right next to an infamous brawling spot where great fights happen every day. Many famous swordsmen come from all around to do battle and duels of honor there. You can even fight some yourself if someone really pisses you off!"_

 _"_ _Sounds pretty great,"_ Zoro replied.

" _Oh but there's a catch,"_ Atlas replied, " _Next to your booze shop is a sword shop. However, you don't have a sword. Not even a good butter knife, and you can't go into the sword shop. You can only look in the windows. You can't send someone in to buy you a sword, or get the owner to come out and sell you one. You can't go anywhere else to get one, and you can't steal or make one. The closest you can get is a rolled up newspaper, or a long necked wine bottle. All those great swordsmen who you see so often, who you want so badly to challenge to a duel, or beg to train you so that you can be a swordsman instead of just a booze shop owner…you can only bring them their booze as they prepare to fight. You can never touch their swords or challenge them, only admire their swordwork and the fine quality of their blades._ "

Sanji noted that present Zoro shuddered at the thought just as much as memory Zoro, then Atlas continued, " _Sounds like Hell doesn't it?"_ Zoro agreed that it did and Atlas nodded, " _Well, that's how Sanji felt at that restaurant. The only difference is that he has cooking food in place of booze and the love of beautiful women in place of swordwork."_

Memory Zoro looked at Sanji with a light of respect that current Sanji was certain he'd never seen before, " _You must be either insane or a god of patience. Either way, I think I get it now."_ Then memory-Zoro stood up, took a swig of sake and said words that Sanji never thought he'd hear Zoro say, " _Let's go get you laid Swirly._ "

That did it. Sanji fainted as the memories of his two best friends finally erupted through his mind, clashing with and all but overwhelming the ones he'd recovered previously of his life long rival, bringing with them the memories of a life he'd forgotten.

==Meanwhile, On Deck==

Nami looked at Kaya closely, "Are you sure you're Kaya? I can't remember having ever seen you with this much color in your cheeks."

Kaya pouted slightly, "Sun and surf. I feel a lot better now that I'm not getting a daily dose of rat poison. Sanji-kun found that out."

Nami looked mortified, "What?! That's awful!"

Kaya looked away, "Yeah…" Then she smiled a fake smile at Nami, "I really am feeling a lot better now! Hey do you think you and me could have a spar like we used to? I'm getting memories back, but I feel like the more I fight the more I'll remember how."

Nami looked around at the evidence of battle, "You said you took out an entire ship load of marines right? By yourself?" Sanji and Usopp hadn't bothered to clean up Kaya's leavings when they'd rushed out to turn the Merry around, so there were still several dead Marines in a pile waiting to be tied up in sail cloth with shot and given a sailor's burial.

Kaya nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah, when they came aboard it was like my body went on autopilot. I didn't know I could move like that…"

Nami walked over and looked at the bodies, quickly beginning to frown as she realized something didn't look right. It took her a second but when she realized what it was her eyes widened, "Kaya, how did you kill these guys?"

"Hands," Kaya replied automatically before blinking in surprise as Nami came over to examine her hands. Nami frowned and then, "I think we had better hold off on the sparring until Atlas can be your opponent. I'm tougher than I look, but he's nearly indestructible and a New World grade master of hand to hand combat."

"Aw…" Kaya pouted, "Alright."

Rebecca came over with a smile, "Did someone say spar?"

Nami blinked at her and then breathed a sigh of relief, "Yeah! Kaya's looking for a partner. She fights with her hands so…maybe go easy on the sword?"

Rebecca glanced at the sword at her hip and then walked off. A moment later she came back with a broken oar and a grin. She raised the now small staff like a sword, "Let's go."

It was like a switch flipped in Kaya's brain. She was still for almost a full second and then she suddenly disappeared, reappearing on the other side of Rebecca for a brief instant before disappearing again. Nami watched in awe as Kaya put Rebecca, the same Rebecca who had sparred with Zoro and Atlas and been declared by their reckoning to be a Grand Line level fighter worth at least a sixty million beri bounty, _on the defensive_.

Rebecca's practice sword blurred as she moved to block Kaya's strikes, but it didn't slow Kaya's hurricane of movement and attacks down. Kaya didn't drop back into visibility for what seemed like an eternity, and when she did, Nami's hunch was confirmed.

"A Zoan type that knows Shave," Rebecca declared with a small grin as a bead of sweat rolled down her cheek, "Impressive."

Kaya blinked in surprise and then looked at her hands before exclaiming, "WHAT THE HELL?!" Kaya's hands were covered in golden yellow fur, larger and meatier than even Zoro and Atlas's, and tipped with fearsome claws. She couldn't see it, but she had cat ears poking through her hair, which had lengthend and become slightly curly. She noticed those when they twitched and her hands flew to her head to feel them in shock. Then she noticed the tail curling out the back of her dress when it brushed against the back of her leg, "EEK!" She quickly realized what it was and began spinning in circles, "IS THAT A TAIL?! I HAVE A TAIL?!"

Rebecca frowned in confusion, "You didn't _know_ that you transformed within two seconds of the fight beginning?"

"That does explain why you're looking healthier than I remember having ever seen you," Nami declared, "Zoans are really tough, so if you have one then it only makes sense that you'd be a lot healthier than before."

"That still doesn't explain how she knows Shave though," Rebecca pointed out.

"Shakkushi," Kaya corrected before going rigid in shock, "How do I know that?"

Nami thought for a moment, _I've heard it called that before…but where…_

Kaya suddenly got tackle hugged by Mina who excitedly declared her a kitty. Kaya blinked in surprise and then, _kitty? Cat…BLACK CAT…_ _ **BLACK CAT PIRATE…**_ Memories of a life she'd been forced to forget suddenly erupted through her mind and down Kaya went.

"Kaya?! KAYA?!"

 _But, that's not my_ _name_ … She frowned as she faded into unconsciousness, _Uncle Jango…what did you do to me?_


	21. Hiatus, Prequel, and Alternative

Hey Everybody, Ghost here.

Sooo…this story has grown in ways that I had not expected or intended. While its new path is **brilliant** if I do say so myself, it will make better sense as a second installment than a first.

This is a popular story, but I find myself running into frequent roadblocks while writing it. This most recent one which has delayed Chapter 21 is related to characters who will become recurring antagonists: The forces of Marine Branch E-1, aka The Devil Fruit Brigade.

While the East Blue is the most peaceful blue, it is kept that way by the forces of Marine Branch E-1. E-1 has stood as a bastion of justice in the East Blue for decades under the leadership of Vice-Admiral Dice, a very shrewd tactician who wielded the power of the Lucky-lucky fruit. Dice used his power over the East Blue's military forces to gather every Devil Fruit user in the East Blue aside from Captain Smoker under his command to form a highly elite flying squadron to swoop in and crush any upcoming pirates who went over twenty million beris worth of threat.

The reason E-1 never came after the Strawhats in canon (aside from me having made them up) is because shortly before Luffy set sail, Vice-Admiral Dice was killed and upon sorting through his documents, his successor, then Rear-Admiral Bacchus Saketora (quickly promoted to Vice-Admiral), discovered that the East Blue was in no way the weakest sea. It was merely home to the most corrupt marines and the most willing-to-bribe-somebody pirates. This corruption went all the way to the top and Vice Admiral Dice had amassed billions of beris worth of bribes over the course of his career. The ensuing mop-up operations were kept completely silent by the World Government and took until after Luffy and the Strawhats had escaped into the Grand Line with Smoker hot on their tail.

Up until this most recent reset, Bacchus has never had a Devil Fruit, just like Atlas. The reason is because they were sworn brothers at one point and both are former Devil Fruit hunters. They didn't _need_ a Devil Fruit. The rest of his team are no less formidable.

…

However, as I said, I've run into yet another roadblock writing Chapter 21, something which has happened with nearly every chapter of this story.

I cannot express to you all how frustrating that is.

So, given that this story will be much better as a second installment, I'm going to put a pin in it and go write what needs to be the first installment.

Don't worry though, I'm not going to leave you all completely out to dry on this one.

Before I put a pin in this, I'm going to give you all a very special scene that wasn't due to be revealed until much later. In fact, despite its brevity, I'd even go so far as to say that it is quite possibly the most important scene in the entire story. So enjoy!

…

…

…

 **Sunset on Kyuka Island**

…

…

…

It was long overdue, she thought. Long past time for her to take a vacation indeed. She worked her ass off, all day, every day. She didn't think she was in any way over stating it to say that she was in fact one of the best at what she did.

 _Yep,_ she thought happily as she sank into a deck chair in the extra cute bikini she had bought herself specially, for this and accepted a drink from the handsome waiter just in time for the sunrise, _Time for my first day in paradise! I'm gonna drink ALL day and into the night! I might even take a NAP…_ Merely the thought of actually getting to take a nap, something she hadn't done since she was a child, caused her smile to grow almost a full inch.

Rising early was second nature to her, she didn't really expect anyone else to be here at this hour to intrude on her watching the sunrise.

Of course someone was.

Said someone arrived mere moments after the waiter had headed back to the beach bar. It was a private stretch of beach reserved exclusively for the clients of the _very_ expensive, highest end hotel on the famous resort island. It was the best, so of course it was the one she had chosen for her first vacation, hell her first real _day off,_ in over a decade. That also meant, that anyone who could afford to stay there was _loaded._

She wasn't poor herself. Her salary wasn't terribly extravagant, but given how little she spent (virtually nothing) it had more than stacked up. She could probably retire at any time if she felt like it. It just wasn't a job she wanted to leave. It had its stress sure, but that was what this was for. Get away, relax a bit, then go back to work fresh as a daisy and be able to churn out results like she hadn't in years due to just how beaten down she had actually finally admitted the constant workload was making her.

She had been quite looking forward to a little peace and quiet before everyone else started waking up, so she shot quite a frigid glare over her shoulder when she heard footsteps approaching. The glare immediately defrosted when she saw what was walking up. _Hell-ooo_ _ **handsome**_ _…_

He was tall, stupidly good looking and his muscles looked like he could throw down with Whitebeard himself. He was also wearing nothing but some swim trunks, so she had an _excellent_ view of every inch of his highly impressive physique.

She didn't pay much attention to guys normally. She was surrounded by them constantly, and most of them were _not_ stupid enough to try flirting with her and risk their positions by pissing her off. _But I'm not the boss here,_ the treacherous little thought popped through her head as she felt a small blush rise to her face and an involuntary smile spread across her face as he paused beside her, "Hi."

He smiled and chuckled out a deep rumbling sound before asking in a voice that was smooth and deep like a calm ocean and set her heart tip-tapping along in a very unfamiliar way, "My my, I come out to watch the sunrise and I'm greeted with an even more beautiful sight. Are you alone? If you don't mind, I recall this as being one of the best spots to watch from. May I join you?"

She was certain she was blushing furiously now and part of her was internally cursing at how easily he was getting to her, "Ah, sure, sure! Go ahead!"

He settled into the deck chair next to her and leaned back, shifting around a little to get comfortable. She quirked an eyebrow at him, "Sooo, is there a name to go with those nice words?"

He blinked over at her and then smiled, "Call me Gray. May I know your name?"

She thought for a moment, _I don't want to be me until I go back to work._ A smirk wormed its way across her face, "Gray huh? Call me Blue."

"My favorite color," he replied with a smile.

Blue felt her blush return a little, _So this is what it's like to have a crush on a hot guy you just met…_

…

Two Years Later

…

Blue and Gray had hit it right off. Where Blue had never taken vacations before meeting him, she now made a point to go visit Kyuka Island at least three times a year now. That hadn't been often enough. Every town she stopped in, she gave a call and he somehow managed to get there to see her. It hadn't started off big, just a little fling. Then another the next time she visited Kyuka, and the time after that. She wasn't sure when she had started making a habit out of going by, but she was sure people had started to notice because she'd heard the whispers and her boss had actually asked her about it.

She had mentioned it to Gray the next time she saw him and that was when he'd revealed that he did a lot of running up and down the Grand Line for his job, and could apparently get places in a matter of hours by calling in favors from his apparently numerous contacts. She didn't know how he pulled it off, she was just glad he did.

Today had been one of her more-frequent-than-she-would've-ever-believed vacations to Kyuka. It was the anniversary of the day they'd met and she had been expecting something sweet and romantic. She had never thought of herself as someone who got all worked up over romantic mush, but apparently it going on for someone else was entirely different than having all that love and affection aimed straight at you and showered down in the most caring and thoughtful displays imaginable.

That being said, it had still caught her completely by surprise when he'd gone down on one knee and pulled out the ring. She had almost fainted with surprise and joy.

Then it had all gone to pot when he said his family was there and he wanted to introduce her.

She had nearly wet herself when she saw them. They had been waiting with a party and a big banner and heartfelt yells of "CONGRATULATIONS!" She could tell as she talked to them and got to know them that they were all genuinely pleased to meet her, overjoyed that she was marrying Gray, because he had to be Gray. He couldn't be who she now knew he was. He _couldn't_.

But he was.

That night, she asked for some alone time, claiming she had a headache. The ship's doctor offered her medicine, medicine she knew could probably cure anything she had, but it wasn't really her head that was hurting.

She laid there all night, unable to sleep for the pain of the revelation coursing through her mind.

The next day, she still hadn't decided what to do and so played nice with his family, because she knew they could kill her as quick as say hello.

It wasn't until that evening when she was trying to drown her confusion and anguish in alcohol that a course of action presented itself to her. She didn't want to think about it, but it was the right course of action. The one that fit with everything she had ever been taught.

Another sleepless night and day later and Gray was getting deeply concerned about her. He asked if she was worried about the wedding, if he had popped the question too soon…it was so damned sweet and why did he have to be so damned _perfect_ and if he didn't stop she was going to cave and…

She had to do it. There was no other way. She laid a finger to his lips and then stood on her toes to kiss him. "I need to go get some things," she whispered, "Meet me in my room tonight." Gray had looked at her in shock and then she gave him a wink that KO'ed him from the nosebleed.

His sisters and friends of course overheard and insisted on helping her pick something out, especially once they realized it was their first time. Apparently Gray had never had a girlfriend before her, never even showed any _interest_ in any girl besides her. Blue didn't want to like them, but they were so damned _likable_. It went against everything she had ever been taught, but she found herself liking them more and more by the minute.

Part of her wanted to just roll with it, but everything she had ever believed and been taught stomped that part into submission. Now if only said part would just stay down, she despaired behind her smile.

Then it came time. Time to do it. She opened the door wearing nothing but her blue nightrobe, raised up on her toes to kiss him and then pulled him into her dark room. The only light was from the moon streaming in from the balcony window. They didn't make it to the bed before they started, the hot and heavy, desperate ravenous _need_ , overwhelming them almost as soon as the door was closed. Almost though, because Gray had to poke his head out and tell his family, who all had their ears pressed to the door, to scram and give them some privacy. They all left laughing and jeering and making catcalls which did nothing at all to dampen the raging wildfire of lust that erupted the instant Gray closed the door.

It was several hours before they collapsed, barely conscious onto the bed. Through the whole thing, Gray never noticed the Blue's coat hanging on the hook near the door…the white one worn like a cape that marked her as a Marine Vice Admiral capable of killing him.


End file.
